Abia Govt Pledges 48-hours JUSUN Salary Arrears Clearance

Abia State government has pledged to settle claim of non-payment of leave allowance to members of the state chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) in their consolidated salary within 48 hours if the chapter provides the evidence.

The state attorney general and commissioner for Justice, Ikechukwu Uwanna stated this yesterday while speaking on the ongoing strike by the chapter over the claim in Umuahia, the state capital.

He said part of the components of the consolidated salary being paid to the members has what is called Leave Bonus, which is also the same thing as the Leave Allowance the union is requesting for.

He said,  “Now, consolidated salary is called consolidated because everything is consolidated into one and paid in different installments. Sometimes we also look at what happens in other states. Federal government does not pay for leave allowance to JUSUN members in the nation. That is our finding. Just like federal government does not pay leave allowance to, for instance, medical doctor or health workers in the federal civil service because of the consolidated scheme.”

His Information counterpart , Okey Kanu, said government takes the issue of workers’ welfare very seriously as it believes it was high time it addressed such issues and move forward.

”The government is thinking about the industrial action and what steps to take to ensure that there is harmony within the civil service, hence the need to address the issue properly,” he noted.

Similarly, the accountant general of the state, Njum Onyemanam reassured the commitment of the government to making payments of staff and pensioners on or before the 28th of every month.

Her words: “The only question that we’re asking the judiciary staff today is to provide verifiable proof that they have earned leave allowances that were not paid over the period.

”For the judiciary, they need to provide documentation. They need to submit their documentation and go through the payment process to be able to get their lump sum.