Sola Ojo, Kaduna
The Joint Unions of Tertiary Institutions of Kaduna State (JUTIKS) yesterday rejected deduction of 25 per cent of workers’ salaries as announced by the state government on Sunday.
The state government had announced its decision to deduct 25 percent of workers salary to support the palliative care for the vast majority of the people of the State until the COVID-19 lockdown subsides.
The government particularly said that top government officials and political appointees would donate.
It also stated that career public servants earning a net pay of N67,000 and above after tax, would donate 25 percent of their salary monthly within the lockdown period.
Reacting to the development, the unions in a statement jointly signed by Mr Noah Danlami and Mr. Jibril Makama Chairman and Secretary respectively, rejected the decision, describing it as “illegal imposed levy”.
The union leaders reminded the public that the unions had offered five percent of workers’ salaries as contribution but was rejected by the State government only to impose 25 percent deductions on them later.
The group warned that providing palliatives to cushion the effect of COVID 19 lockdown on citizens was the responsibility of government which should not be shifted to workers.
According to them, ‘’the Kaduna State-owned tertiary institutions were still being paid 80 percent of the obsolete CONTISS salary structure, as against the CONPCASS/CONTEDISS structure introduce ced 11 years ago’’.
The statement read in part, “this made Kaduna tertiary institutions workers the least paid in the country, while still shouldering the responsibilities of not only their immediate and extended families but their neighbours as well.
“The government said that no public servant will have less than N50,000 monthly to manage in this emergency period. But this is not true as majority of workers are currently servicing different loans.