Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state has been called upon to as a matter of urgency, pay retirees in the state, their over N20 billion outstanding gratuity.
The leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress, Bauchi state chapters made the call while addressing a press conference at the Secretariate of the NUJ.
According to the State NLC Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Danjuma Saleh, the non-payment of the gratuity to retirees as at when due has made life unbearable for many.
He lamented that most of the affected retirees cannot afford to meet basic necessities of living in the light of current economic misfortunes prevalent in the country.
The Labour Chairman revealed that the approved N30,000 minimum wage has not been implemented across all cadres of workers under the payroll of the Bauchi State government.
He said, it is an issue of great concern that retirees in the state are being subjected to hardship due to non-payment of gratuity.
“This is an issue that gives the leadership of the organised labour sleepless nights”, Comrade Danjuma said.
“All of us that are serving today will retire one day and face similar challenges if it is not adequately addressed today”, he added..
Comrade Danjuma also noted that there is also the issue of outstanding promotions and non-implementation of promotions and annual increment which has been persisting.
He appealed to the state government to address the pending issue of consequential adjustment of salary of officers on GL7 and above without further delay.
