Rivers’ Union Embarks On 7-day Warning Strike Over Non-payment Of Salaries

Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Rivers State, has declared a seven-day warning strike in all the 23 local government areas over non-payment of salary to 300 staff of Emohua LGA.

NULGE state chairman, Comrade Christopher Paul, told journalists in Port Harcourt that the action was to protest the refusal of the chairman of Emohua LGA, Dr. Chidi Lloyd, to pay some workers who were reinstated by the administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Paul stated that the affected workers had been receiving their salaries before the emergence of the Lloyd-led administration in the area.

He wondered why the reinstated workers would be denied their payment by the current administration in Emohua LGA.

The NULGE state chairman warned that if the issue was not resolved after the end of the seven-day warning strike, the workers will embark on an indefinite strike.

“We are embarking on this strike because the current chairman of Emohua local government area, stop the salary of over 300 workers in Emohua and you will all agree with me that these workers had been receiving salaries for several months, since the governor of Rivers State graciously recalled them back.
Even his predecessor, the outgone administrator of the LGA was paying them these salary up to their July salary. Only for him to resume office now and say he will not pay them salary and we said no, they are our members,” Paul said.

But, the chairman of Emohua LGA, Dr. Chidi Lloyd, is pushing back the claims that Fubara reinstated some workers in the local government councils.

Lloyd, who told journalists in Port Harcourt that genuine workers of Emohua LGA we’re not being owed salaries, insisted that those protesting were never employees of the council.