*Plan strike a week to Oct 1 over harmonised salary

By Victor Ahiuma-Young & Temitope Titilope

LAGOS — INDICATIONS have emerged that federal civil servants are planing to sabotage Nigeria’s golden independence anniversary celebration over alleged refusal of the Accountant-General of the Federation to release funds for the payment of workers harmonised salary that was captured and approved in the 2010 supplementary budget.

Vanguard gathered that the civil servants are planning to down tools and begin an indefinite industrial action across the country one week before October 1, should government fail to begin the implementation of the harmonised wage which ought to have commenced by July 1.

One of the leaders of organised labour in the Federal Public Service, who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said: “Government has budgeted no fewer than N10 billion for the celebration of the nation’s 50th independent anniversary.

“They have been going about spending money on the preparation forgetting workers. If they fail to pay us the harmonied salary that ought to have begun since July 1, we are going to sabotage the celebration by declaring an indefinite strike nationwide one week to October 1.”

ASCSN expresses regrets
Meanwhile, the leadership of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, has expressed regrets that the harmonized salary has not been paid three months after negotiation was concluded and urged government to pay workers the harmonized salary before the independence anniversary to calm restive nerves.

Rising from its National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Abuja , ASCSN said the funds needed for its implementation had been approved in the supplementary budget of 2010 and even signed for by the Minister of Finance, and wondered why the Accountant-General had not issued warrant for it to be released for workers to be paid.

The body urged President Goodluck Jonathan to compel the Accountant General of the Federation to disburse fund for the immediate payment of the new wage to enable workers participate in the celebration of the nation’s 50th independence anniversary.

In a communiqué by ASCSN’s Secretary General, Comrade Solomon Onaghinon, the association said: “Council felicitates with FG and Nigerians on the golden jubilee anniversary and implored government to ensure that federal civil servants are paid the recent salary increase latest by September 2010 to enable them participate effectively in the celebrations.”