Amidst the ongoing protest by organised labour, Niger State Government on Wednesday said palliative for workers was no longer sustainable.
The government therefore advocated for the upward review of salaries of workers across all levels to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal on citizens.
The Deputy Governor, Yakubu Garba said this when he joined the Nigeria Labour Congress match protest from Niger State Labour House to the State House of Assembly.
Garba, the immediate past NLC Chairman in the state said while NLC was not part of the policy formulators, it must be allowed to check the actions of government at all levels.
“Labour is not against the government. If there is any sincere driver of government policies, it is organised labour. But labourers are not leaders who make policies. So, any policy that government would formulate should have a human face so that the masses do not suffer,” Garba said.
The Deputy Governor was of the opinion that the best way the government would address the hardship being faced by citizens was an upward review of salaries rather than temporary palliative measures.
He said the state government was working on ways in collaboration with the state House of Assembly to provide opportunities that would cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy on citizens of the state.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress in the State, Ibrahim Gana said the salaries of workers in the state ended up in transportation to work since the removal of the fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, subjecting residents to untold hardship due to the rising cost of food stuffs and other essentials.
