The last time I checked, Imo workers in their
entirety once again had a good reason to not just smile but grin. The expected
outlook of the physiognomies of the persons in question is informed by the
pronouncement made by the Imo Executive Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha
penultimate week.
In the period in review, precisely on Thursday
19th April 2018, the state’s number one citizen while speaking to
newsmen domiciled in the state who called on him at the Government House,
disclosed that Imo civil servants would henceforth be faced with a ‘new salary
structure’, which is targeted to bear an upward review of their monthly wages
and allowances.
The above avowal implies that as from the end
of April this year, the said workers are going to be placed on a juicier
take-home pay. It suffices to assert that their individual lives are meant to
change positively commencing from this month, which would mark the premiere of
the proposed new salary structure.
Governor
Okorocha who used the occasion to comment on the ongoing penury faced by the
overall Imo retirees, stated that he was determined to change the welfare of
the civil servants for good. This is needless to say that he is wearing the
political will over the issue as one would wear a clothe.
However,
the amiable governor didn’t inform Imolites if the salary structure is mainly
aimed at ensuring that the workers start receiving hundred percent of their
entitled salaries. We expected His Excellency to use the event to throw more
light on the forthcoming initiative.
It
would be recalled that on arrival of the lingering recessionary era, the Imo
Government began to pay the civil servants only seventy percent of their
entitled wages, though in agreement with the leadership of the workers’ union
otherwise known as the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) of the Imo State Chapter.
The consequence of the downward review
of the workers’ salaries unabated threw their mood in anguish on a monthly
basis even though the scheme was ostensibly approved by them via their leaders.
They were left with no option than to accept their fate in good faith since
there’s invariably a light at the end of the tunnel if one remains optimistic.
It’s noteworthy that it was the
unfortunate situation faced by the civil servants that mainly prompted the Imo
workers’ Free Working Days; an initiative implemented by the governor to enable
them use part of their working period to engage themselves in farming with the
motive of boosting their respective incomes as well as attract surplus foods on
their tables.
Regrettably, the candid initiative that attracted
countless criticisms from various quarters, failed to yield any meaningful
fruit as anticipated by the Governor who apparently meant well for the teeming
workers. The failure of the scheme recently called for its abrupt termination
by the number one citizen.
It’s equally worthy of note that
subsequently, the salaries of the workers were upwardly reviewed to eighty
percent, which reportedly remains the percentage received by each of them till
date. In spite of the upward review, they were yet not comfortable with the
take-home pay. This perhaps was what occasioned the pronouncement made by the
governor penultimate week.
But, the number one citizen didn’t consider
telling us the nitty-gritty of the proposed increment. It was pronounced as if
the incoming ‘new salary structure’ is a largesse, and not the workers’
supposed entitlement. It was presented
as if the said initiative is a hamper from the Rescue Mission Government. We
were informed in a way that anyone would think the scheme is an additional
allowance initiated by the governor.
Although the initiative was born out of the
governor’s magnanimity because if he fails to do so, no one would query him,
but concerned Imolites expected him to notify if the new structure is aimed at
increasing the workers’ wages to ninety percent or what have you. Or better
still, if it will ensure that the workers henceforth will receive hundred
percent of their salaries coupled with extra package on a monthly basis.
Inasmuch as I wholeheartedly
appreciate the governor for coming up with the ‘new salary structure’, I
equally wish to use this medium to inform him that discerning minds in the
state would want to know what exactly the initiative entails. Hence, there is
need for a painstaking statistics regarding the scheme to be made available to
all concerned.
As I also urge the leadership of the
NLC to salute the number one citizen for the new structure, I implore them to endeavour
to ask pertinent questions when need be towards intimating their entire members
on whatever they deserve to know. In view of this, I expect them to call on His
Excellency with a view to enquiring from him the nitty-gritty of the seeming
laudable scheme.
It’s imperative for governments at all
levels to acknowledge the essence of incentives in boosting the productivity of
the labour force. The manpower in any setting, either private or public, ought
to be meant to enjoy regular incentives to enable them put in their best
regardless of the circumstance.
Believe it or not, an effective and
efficient day-to-day input can never be gotten from a group of workers that are
maltreated as regards regular payment of wages and allowances. Any underpaid
labour force as it is witnessed in most quarters across the federation,
irrespective of the setting, is liable to malfunction.
This
is the reason I mustn’t cease to commend Gov. Okorocha for eventually thinking
in this direction, even as I tell him that he can do better. He really needn’t
be reminded that workers are just not unlike Oliver Twist. Think about it!
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub (DRH) - Owerri
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Twitter: @mediambassador
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