Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi, has directed that salaries of workers at both the state and local government levels be paid before September 20 to enable workers send their children and wards back to school.

“All salaries in the state must be paid by 20th of September. This will be done every month. All salaries of workers, especially those of teachers in the state must be paid on 20th of September,” he said in Abakaliki on Monday.

He spoke while receiving national executive of the Nigeria Union of Teachers led by their National President, Mr. Michael Olukoya, at the Government House.

The governor added that in line with the recommendations of the Special Committee on Salaries, there would no longer be a disparity between the salaries of state workers and their local government counterparts.

He urged the teachers not to join the warning strike declared by the Nigerian Labour Congress, regretting that the government and labour signed an agreement to accept the recommendations of the special salaries committee only for labour to reject it and call workers on strike.

Governor Umahi stated that henceforth, no agency of the state government would be permitted to negotiate with the organised labour in the state led by a federal worker.

The governor, who re-assured the NUT national leadership that his administration would not embark on disengagement of teachers, however, frowned on the quality of some of the teachers whom he noted were not qualified to teach.

He promised to re-visit all issues of outstanding salaries of teachers at local government level arising from the recent increment of workers’ salaries, which he stated was politically-motivated.

Governor Umahi reiterated that his administration would also re-visit the issue of the payment of Teachers Salary Structure) to teachers in the state when the economy of the state improved.

Earlier in an address, Olukoya had said they were in the state because of the welfare of NUT members.

He stated that the union was disappointed because of Primary School Teachers in the state were discriminated against in the implementation of the 50% salary increase for workers in the state.

Olukoya regretted that primary school teachers were not paid when the government directed the payment of the outstanding September, 2011 salaries of workers who went on strike under the no-work-no pay policy of the past administration in the state.

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the governor on Labour Relations, Mrs Grace Chukwu, has described as false, an allegation by organised labour in the state, that one of its members, Comrade Emmanuel Mbam, was beaten to coma and rushed to hospital by a government monitoring team led by Sam Igwe.

“Mbam was not beaten; no body touched him; no body tortured him as was alleged by organised labour that the man was beaten to coma and that the man was in the hospital. He (Mbam) is here live to speak for himself,” told journalists at a news conference.

Mbam, who is the vice chairman of Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi State chapter, said he was in his office ensuring that no worker in his constituent came to work when the government monitoring team arrived.

He said: “I was not beaten by anybody. Rather, they were persuading me not to prevent workers from entering their offices. When I got calls from my labour leaders I told them to remain calm that I am alive.”

The state chairman, National youth council of Nigeria, Igwe, who was accused of beating the parliamentary labour leader, described the allegation by the organised labour in the state as “inciting workers against the government.”

He urged workers to give their maximum support to government as Governor Umahi was poised to ensure workers welfare in the state.

•Photo shows Governor Umahi.

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