New Telegraph

Improved Salary: Rivers’ retirees, workers go spiritual

Initial Crux

The hope of workers in Rivers State to earn improved salary may just be wishful thinking judging by what has prevailed in the state in the past seven years. Most workers in the state are increasingly worried that despite meeting the criteria for promotion, they keep languishing in one grade. They are also troubled with a situation where some of them that managed to be promoted still earn based on the old salary scale.

Protest Resort

For pensioners, it appears their situation is far worse, which is why they have staged series of protests since 2015. During the last protest they staged in September last year, it took the direct intervention of the then state Commissioner of Police, Eboka Friday, before they called it off. Indeed, since 2014 no retiree in the state has received their gratuity. Some retirees that are due for their gratuities complain that the state government use biometrics capturing as an excuse to delay the payment. The state government had made it clear that biometrics capturing was important to ascertain the real numberof retirees, theyeartheyretired and other necessary datatoaid the payment. A retiree, who worked with the ministryof educationandhasbeen waiting for his gratuity since 2015, decried thedelay by thestategovernment in paying gratuity. He lamented that the delay in the payment of their gratuities is an open invitation to early grave, lamenting that some of his colleagues have passedon while waiting forthe government to take action. He said: “I am now in my 70s and still waiting for my gratuity after serving my state for almost four decades. Ihaveafamilythatdepends on me. It is only God that will judge their wickedness,” he said. “I captured the much talked about biometrics about six years ago. I just don’t know what is delaying the state government from releasing the money.”

Pensioners’ Kick

Forthe Chairmanof the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), in the state, Collins Nwankwo, the state government had remained insensitive to the plight of pensioners despite the massive outcry against the current situation. He is bitter despite the protests embarkedon.bypensioners, despite the appeal and despite the huge economic burden on pensioners, the state government has refused to act over gratuities, arrears of pension, harmonisation and other issues Nwankwo said: “But we are aware that during the last budget presentation by the governor, we saw some of the provisions the governormadeforpensionmatters. But they are just small sums in terms of the realities on the ground. “Thishaskeptusrestrained abit. We are watching to see if things will improve, but if he keeps delaying, wewillreact. Wearemoreinterested ingetting paymentof gratuitiesand arrears started. “His tenure is ending; he should start the payment and wherever he stopsif hecannotclearit, becomesa startingpointforthepersoncoming after him. “For the pension arrears, the months are many. I cannot remember all now but the money involved is much. To be very specific on the total amount, it requires serious mathematics…We have those who retired since 2014, 2015, in fact, from 2014 till date, those who retired have not been paid. “They owe us many months of pension arrears that run into billions, so when you are making provisions for paltry sum to service the debt, it does not go anywhere.”

Their Plight

The plight of pensioners has attracted the attention of a few concerned groups and individuals in the state. They are of the opinion that pensioners should be treated fairly and not left to suffer and die after putting in many fruitful years in service. The South-South Youths Initiative (SSYI), is one of the groups that havespokenoutstrongly againstthe plight of pensioners. Recently, the group advised Governor Nyewom Wike to pay proper attention to the welfare of the people of the state, including the retirees and pensioners. The group’s national president, Imeabe Saviour, in a statement in Port Harcourt, appealed to the governor to make deliberate effort to pay pensioners their arrears. He said: “The governor of the state should make deliberate effort to pay our retirees their gratuities and pay pension to our pensioners. “Wehavewitnessedrepeatedprotests by these elders who served the statewithalltheirstrengthandtime. It is painful that we still see this class of people on the streets demanding forwhatbelongstothemthatshould have been paid with ease. “We condemn in its entirety the idea of reckless spending of Rivers moneyonotherstates. This, thegovernor does in the form of donation to other state governments. “Within two years, the governor has donated N1.5 billion to three states. N500 million to Sokoto State, N500milliontoBenueStateandjust last week, the governor donated N500 million to Bayelsa State. “This is happening when our pensionersareprotesting, theeducation system is not functioning well, and the primary healthcare system is going down the drain. We see this as a slap on the people that gave him all the support he needed.”

Situation Miserable

Most workers and pensioners that are currently in lamentation mode would have disagreed if any experthadpredictedthattheywould find themselves in this situation. This is because in 2015 when the Wike administration came on board, both workers andpensioners were owed four-month salary and arrearsbytheAmaechiadministration. At that period, the morale of workers was very low. In fact, about two months before the Amaechi administration left office, workers in the state civil service had turned the state secretariat into a protest ground. It was Wike that cleared the arrears the moment he assumed office. The question on the minds of most workers and pensioners in the state remains: what suddenly changed between then and now? Some have wondered if they committed any offence to deserve theircurrenttreatmentbeingmeted to them. “We thought that workers welfare on his top priority list. We workers thought that he would carry us along as we contribute our quota to the development of the state,” said one worker who is in the information ministry. It is due to that alleged sense of neglect by the Wike administration that recently forced the Rivers State branch of the National Association of Primary Healthcare workers to issuea21-dayultimatumtothestate government. In a statement by its Chairman, Daniel Atiemie, the group warned that it would seek redress in court over the non-promotion, non-paymentof Consolidated HealthSalary Structure, andnon-implementation of theminimumwageamong other issues. Atamie said: “The state government’s refusal to transfer Primary Health Care Workers salaries to the state in utter disregard and breach of the Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board Law No.10,2010. Beingalawduly enacted by the Rivers State Government. “These and other issues formed the basis of a lawsuit instituted by the Association at the National Industrial Court, against the Wike led Rivers State Government to press home our demands. “The Rivers State Government upon four consecutive appearances applied for the settlement of the matter out of Court. We accepted and the chief among the terms of settlementisthetransferof thePHC workers’ salaries which is believed totakecareof andaddresstheother issues.”

Dakuku Peterside’s Position

Expectedly, in a state with deep politicaldividebetweenleaderswho once worked together, the plight of workersandpensionershasattracted comments from top politicians. One of the most vocal critics of the current situation is the former Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside. In a recent statement, Peterside had said: “In the year 2021, Rivers civilservants, whoconstitute the engine room of government, suffered draconian policies in the hands of a regime that cared less for their welfare. “In that year, close to 400 government- owned property statutorily occupied by senior civil servants and their families were forcefully taken over and the occupants ejected. “Today those same official quarters have been gifted to politicians and those close to the government in a manner most demeaning and dehumanising of the former legitimate occupants. “Further intheir anti-labour and anti-civil servants’ policies, the Rivers State Government promoted no single civil servant in 2021, the same sad situation in the last five years and none has been officially sponsored for any training to enhance their capacity to function.

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