The tension as Niger and labour decide on wage cuts on thursday

Nigerien workers may go on strike after a meeting with the state government, which has insisted on cutting wages.

The Nation concluded that the action will take effect if the government sticks to its decision to cut wages due to the decrease in the federal allowance.

He also learned that the government was planning to pay workers 70% of November wages in all areas, a move the unions have vowed not to make.

Organized Labor and all affiliated unions at the meeting of the State Executive Council (SEC) in Minna unanimously agreed that any wages below 100 percent of workers would not be accepted.

They gave the state government end of November to conform to paying workers their full salaries, stressing refusal will lead to indefinite strike action.

Chairman Niger Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Inusa Tanimu, who spoke with The Nation explained the Organised Labour would take a stand regarding the industrial action after meeting with government

He declared that any salary below 100 per cent would not be accepted by the unions

“We are meeting tomorrow(Thursday) we are still talking with them but one thing we have decided is that anything less than 100 per cent is a no to us,” he stated.

But the government has maintained it has no choice but to slash the salaries of workers.

The Secretary to the Niger State Government, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, who spoke to The Nation explained it was not so much about the slash but inability of the government to pay 100 per cent salary to workers.

He said because of recession, the Federal allocation has dropped to a level where the state government can no longer pay 100 per cent salaries.

“There is no talk about slash in the salaries of civil servants. What we have discussed with the Organised Labour was that because of the recession, our FAAC allocation has dropped to a level where we won’t be able to pay 100 per cent of the salary.

“We called their attention to this, we opened our books in terms of how much we received, the existing commitments and what is left over,” he stressed.

Matane further confirmed that there will be a meeting with Labour to take certain positions, “we will meet again on Thursday to take certain positions. That is where we are now.”