By VINCENT UJUMADU
AWKA—THREE human rights groups in Anambra State have blamed both organized labour and the state government for the on-going indefinite strike embarked upon by workers in the state, saying the two bodies failed to manage the situation properly.

The groups, including the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, the Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, and Human Rights Club, said in a statement in Onitsha yesterday that in as much as they remained sticklers of decent minimum wage for every Nigerian worker, they regretted the circumstances that led to the on-going strike.

The statement read: “Apart from inherent peculiarities in the capacities of the states and local governments to pay the new minimum wage, it also appears that the amended Minimum Wage Act is ambiguous in its letters, which has given room for various forms of interpretation by stakeholders, including the leaderships of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and various levels of government in the country.”

“The economy of the country was also not made to accommodate the new wage Act in terms of macro and micro growth. Instead, the recurrent expenditures of the Federal Government and most states of the Federation have jumped to over 75% of the national and states earnings, at the utter mercy of the all-important capital expenditures, which have fallen to less than 25%.”

According to the groups, government exists not to sustain government machinery alone, but to ensure greatest comfort and happiness for the greatest number of the citizenry.

They added that labour ought to have taken into consideration the fact that Anambra State had started implementing the new wage at a time many states were yet to take a definite stand on the issue.

They described as unfortunate a situation whereby mere 15,000 government employees and few hundreds of top public officials in the Anambra State executive, the judiciary and legislative arms had continued to spend over 70% of the state’s monthly earnings, leaving only little for the greater percentage of the people.

They also observed that the state government was not helping matters in the area of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), noting that although the state had the capacity to generate up to N5billion per month, armchair syndrome and corrupt tendencies of some government aides and workers had steadily reduced the actual earnings to less than N500 million per month.

The groups also frowned on  attempts to sack workers from other states, arguing that disengaging them would amount to jungle-justice and violation of the national cohesiveness and integration.

They called on the leadership of the state NLC to embrace dialogue and shun hard stance attitudes, just as they commended the present government of Anambra State for its fiscal ingenuity, particularly its zero-loan culture.

They also urged it not to relent in ensuring effective social service delivery, especially in the area of provision and maintenance of key infrastructures, including roads, bridges, erosion controls, health and education.

They commended the intervention of the State House of Assembly and the State Elders Council in the on-going industrial dispute, urging them not rest in their oars until the dispute was equitably resolved.