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Dickson, aggrieved workers shun Labour Day celebration in Bayelsa

Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State
Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State
CHINEDU WOSU
YENAGOA

As Nigerian workers celebrated World Labour Day across the country, it was celebration time in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital Sunday as hundreds of workers and Governor Seriake Dickson stayed away from the May Day annual event.

The aggrieved workers stayed away and shunned the event held at the stadium in Samson Siasia Sports Complex,Yenagoa, amid tight security.

A few of the workers that came out for the celebration led by the chairmen of the state councils of NLC and TUC, Bipre John Ndiomu and Tari Dounana, wore gloomy faces.

The workers also tied black arm bands and refused to file out for the usual march past and fanfare that usually characterised May Day celebrations to protest unpaid salaries.

Currently, workers in the state civil service are owed four months’ salaries, employees of local government councils are battling to survive over 12 months of unpaid wages while pensioners are owed over seven months.

This year’s Workers’ Day celebration came barely four days after the NLC and TUC handed a 21-day ultimatum to Governor Seriake Dickson to pay all outstanding salaries to the workers and pensioners of the state government.

The unions had warned that there would be industrial disharmony if the government failed to pay up all outstanding salaries to the workers at the end of the 21-day ultimatum.

Principal officers of the three arms of government including Governor Seriake Dickson, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Konbowei Benson, and the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Kate Abiri, were conspicuously absent from the Workers’ Day celebration.

Also Deputy Governor, John Gboribiogha Jonah, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Serena Dokubo-Spiff and many officials of the government shunned the Day.

There was, however, a mild protest by some of the workers when the number one civil servant and Head of Service, Peter Singabele, was announced as the representative of the governor.

In a joint address read by the NLC chairman, John Bipre Ndiomu, the unions said the theme of the May Day 2016, “The Working Class and the Quest for Socio-Economic Survival”, called for serious appraisal of the economic survival of workers.

He stressed the need for the Dickson administration to quickly respond to the demands of labour and save workers from “huge economic pains and the attendant effects of increased armed robbery, kidnappings, deaths etc”.

Ndiomu stated that the ultimatum given the government would not be withdrawn and vowed that “the matter would be pursued until government yields to our demands”.

He also called on Dickson to reduce political appointments at a time when the resources of government had become very lean and could hardly take care of its financial obligations.

Responding, Dickson said he attaches great importance to the welfare of workers.

He said although the prevailing economic recession was global in nature and not peculiar to Nigeria and Bayelsa alone, his administration had been holding meetings with labour leaders towards solving the problem of unpaid salaries of workers.

“We have held several meetings with labour leaders and I think the consensus is that whatever is available should be used to pay (salaries) and the process is already on to pay salaries”, he said.

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