PDP, Aregbesola in war over alleged salary cut
PDP, Aregbesola in war over alleged salary cut
By Lara Ayeni, Oshogbo
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun state has engaged Governor Rauf Aregbesola in war of word over alleged plans by the Osun State Government to cut workers’ salaries. But the state government has reacted swiftly saying it is not a salary cut, but a streamlining of certain benefits accruing to workers in order to ensure that payment of salaries continued unhindered.
A statement by the spokesman for the PDP, Diran Odeyemi, on Wednesday said the government had already circulated a memo notifying civil servants of the new pay regime that would see workers forfeiting all allowances that are paid to workers in other states.
“The memo informing workers of the forfeiture of their allowances, which was signed by the Permanent Secretary in the office of the head of service, Mr Sunday Olajide, stated that the allowances include 27.5 per cent peculiar allowance for teachers, 25per cent-35per cent for other categories of workers,” Mr. Odeyemi said.
“The new policy will see workers with degrees in education being transferred to relevant education offices, while education parastatals and agencies like TEPO, are to be reviewed.
“Under the new arrangement, there will be Teachers Establishment Office and Education Assessment Office while Elementary and Middle Schools will be fully under SUBEB and receive their salaries from local government.”
The party noted that the Osun State Government had also introduced Electronic Fingerprint Capturing Machines, which would be deployed into government offices and public schools to ensure workers were punctual and regular at their duty post.
“In 2011, a contract for the supply of the fingerprint capturing machines meant to check truancy among workers in the local government was awarded to a Lagos based company,” Mr. Odeyemi noted.
“The machines that were supplied and mounted in secretariats of the 30 local government and Ife East Area Council, cost the state a sum of N90 million, but less that 6 months after its introduction all the machines stopped functioning.
“Now Mr. Aregbesola is planning to reintroduce the machines and buy more, hiding under the guise of using them to check truancy. Does that not expose crass incompetence and a deeper surge into the abyss of indebtedness he has plunged the state into?
“We urge anti-graft agencies to look into all the issues we are raising to safe Osun from Aregbesola financial quagmire.”
But the Bureau of Communcation and Strategy at the office of Governor Aregbesola, argued that rather than an outright salary cut, the government had taken measures to ensure that all workers were well taken care of in the face of the harsh economic realities.
Its Director, Semiu Okanlawon, said the government had to decide whether to lay off workers, or make some adjustments that would ensure that no one lost his job, and at the same time all workers received their dues for work done.
“The government is taking certain measures given that the resources available to the whole country right now is not enough,” he said.
“It is the responsibility of the government that wants to care of its people to ensure that it puts in place certain measures that will keep us in line with the economic realities.
“To fail to do so as the PDP will want is to emulate the PDP in its ruderlessness which brought Nigeria almost to a complete end.”
Mr. Okanlawon cited the stoppage of overtime payments as one of the measures taken by the government.
He also said the measures had the backing of workers.”
Posted from GoBroadsheet