There is palpable tension? among local government staff in Katsina State over a looming mass retrenchment as the? state Local Government Service Commission reportedly sent list of redundant staff to the council areas.
Our correspondent reports that following the conclusion of staff audit at the local government level as a result of the implementation of the new national minimum wage, a list of staff alleged to be redundant had been sent to various local government councils fueling fear among the councils’ staff.
It was gathered that in virtually all the 34 local government areas of the state, an undisclosed number of persons were penciled down? for retrenchment “for being redundant and hence a waste to the government as they merely collect salaries.”
Speaking to our correspondent, the state chairman of National Union of Local Government Employee (NULGE), Aliyu Haruna Kankara who admitted that the list had caused panic among members, urged members not to entertain any fear assuring that, “No staff will be unjustly retrenched”.
Kankara in a telephone interview with our correspondent said, “it is true that the list sent to respective local governments is causing panic but the commission has given me its words that no staff will be sacked and I take them by their words.”
“Should the commission retrench any of our members, we will follow first of all the option of dialogue in reinstating them but when that fails, then we will embark on total strike,” Kankara added.
The NULGE chairman, who expressed dismay over the delay in the payment of the new national minimum wage to the local government staff, chided the state government for undue delay and urged the state government to expedite action in approving the new salary for its members.