Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has asked organized labour in the state to choose between mass retrenchment of workers to accommodate the minimum wage previously enjoyed or receive payment of salaries in percentage.
Speaking yesterday in Lafia, the state capital during the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed Interim Management Committee (IMC) chairmen of 11 local government areas, the governor pointed out that it was not his wish for anyone to be retrenched.
It would be recalled that organized labour in Nasarawa State on July 4 embarked on indefinite strike action to protest the government’s decision to slash their salaries by 50 per cent.
The government had earlier announced a 50 per cent cut in salaries of both public officers and civil servants in the state in view of the dwindling economy and sharp decline in allocation from the federation account.
SEE: Nasarawa Workers Defy Al-Makura’s Sack Threat, Continue Strike Action
Gov. Al-Makura stressed that while it was his desire to pay workers’ salaries in full, he was faced with the difficult option of paying full salary and stopping all development projects and amenities in the state.
He, therefore, called on the workers union to accept that circumstances forced the government to review their salaries.
