Labour Decries Dearth Of Workers In Edo Civil Service

Comrade Charles Momoh, acting state chairman of Trade Union Congress, TUC, Edo State, on Monday, the International Workers Day, decried dearth of staff in the state public sector, which he said has placed workers in the state under heavy burden.
Momoh stated that as a result of the scarcity of staff in the state civil service, one worker now performs the duty of five or 10 staff, making service very excruciating and uninteresting.
He said ministries in the Edo State Civil Service are grossly understaffed.
“We acknowledge the effort you have made in employment but Mr Governor, please employ more workers into the ministries and classrooms so that our output can improve.
“Let those that have been given jobs be made permanent especially, EdoStar and EdoBest fellows in schools”, the Labour leader demanded.
Also, the TUC chairman who also lamented the lack of infrastructure in the state’s public schools, noted that there are no seats, laboratories, libraries, good offices for principals, teachers as well as non-academics like cleaners, gardeners’, stenographers, library attendants, clerical staff, among others.
In his speech, Comrade Odion Olaye, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), condemned the stagnation in the promotion of health workers in the Edo State Primary Health Care Development Agency in the past four to five years.
Odion also condemned the discrepancy in salary payment that exists across the different local governments.
The NLC chairman described the recent intervention in employment in the state as a tip of the iceberg compared to the existing vacancies.
He appealed to the state government to direct the immediate recruitment of more staff into the state public and civil service.
It was not all lamentation as the leadership of the organized labour also commended the state government for the prompt payment of workers’ monthly salaries, the N40,000 minimum wage, regular payment of pension among others.
In his remarks, the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki described workers as the “unsung heroes of the society”.
Governor Obaseki said his government will continue to prioritize workers welfare and ensure that they are fairly treated so that their take home pay can, “take them home”.
“Our government has kept faith with prompt and regular payment of staff salaries and retirees (pension) in the state in the last six years.
“As a tradition, salaries must be paid latest 26th day of every month and if there are holidays or ceremonies, we will make sure we pay workers before those ceremonies so that they will have enough to celebrate,” he added.