Daily Champion (Lagos)
Abiodun Adelaja and Adekunle Adesuji
21 October 2009
Abuja — Protesting steel workers and their retired counterparts yesterday stormed the National Assembly, demanding the federal lawmakers' intervention to pressure the federal government to pay them salary arrears and severance packages worth N6.1billion.
The workers, under the aegis of Iron and Steel Staff Association of Nigeria, are demanding the prompt payment of their salary arrears and severance package for their retired counterparts.
President of the Union, Comrade M.S. Otori, while briefing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Steel, said the Ministry of Mines and Steel said government was yet to pay a balance of N1.173billion out of the N3billion earlier earmarked by the federal government as arrears while N5.2 billion is outstanding as pension liabilities.
Representatives of the association, who briefed the House Committee on Steel on their plight, also decried the absence of the Minister of Mines and Steel, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke at the meeting where the federal lawmakers had convened to deliberate on the lingering salary crisis and allied steel- stakeholders' problems.
Comrade Otori in his submission, said the Federal Government through its Ministry of Mines and Steel, was yet to pay a balance of N1.173billion out of the N3billion earlier earmarked by the Federal Government for arrears, while N5.2billion was still outstanding as pension liabilities for retired steel workers at Delta Steel Mill.
"An approval of over N3billion was also made for severance benefits of steel workers in Jos, Kastsna and Osogbo Steel Rolling Mills totalling N3,294, 134,147billion, but we are yet to get this money paid as approved," he said.
He, however, said that only N1.173billion of the sum was outstanding for payment.
For pension liabilities, the union leader pleaded with the National Assembly to capture it in the 2010 budget so that the liabilities could be offset once and for all.
"The amount pension liabilities outstanding is N5.2billion and we also want to plead with you to kindly include this amount in the 2010 budget to save the company (Delta Steel) from further trouble that may end its operation" , he stated.
In his response, the Chairman, House Committee on Steel, Alhaji Aminu Shehu Shagari, appealed to the protesting workers to remain calm as efforts were being made to ensure that their problems were solved without further delay.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
