As civil servants and other workers in Bauchi State joined their counterparts across Nigeria to mark this year’s Workers’ Day, Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has assured the organized labour in the state that his administration will not relent in its efforts aimed at motivating civil servants and improving their standard of living.
Addressing labour unions at the celebration of this year’s Workers Day held at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi, the state capital, Governor Mohammed said his administration, being workers’ friendly, had adopted the N30,000 consequential adjustment of national minimum wage, as well as the implementation and payment of the state government’s statutory contributions on Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS).
Represented by the Head of Service, Yahuza Adamu Haruna, the Governor explained that the ECS was designed with a view to compensating employees who sustained or suffered from occupational diseases, injuries or disability at work or outside it and the next of kin of employees who die in the course of their work.
The Governor said upon assumption of office on May 29, 2019, his administration took far reaching measures aimed at ensuring stabilisation of payment of salaries and pensions by eliminating ghost workers syndrome, block leakages, improve cash flow management, cut irrelevant and unnecessary spending, among other fraudulent activities in the state civil service.
While assuring that his government was poised to support the state workers in restoring the lost glory of the civil service, Governor Mohammed declared that the uniqueness of the Workers Day, also known as May Day, was underscored by the workers’ contributions to Nigeria’s socio-economic development in particular and the world at large
He announced that in order to ameliorate the suffering of civil servants in accessing quality health care services in the state, the state government had approved the take-off of the health care contributory scheme in the state formal/public sector.
“In addition, the government had set-up a machinery for the settlement of the backlog of pension and gratuity with a view to minimising the suffering of retired civil servants,” the Governor said.