Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has announced the payment of N10, 000 to 50,196 personnel in the state public service, including employees of the 10 higher institutions in the state, for the next three months.
He said the payments will take effect from this month (August), as part of measures to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on civil servants, and depreciation of the naira against the United States (U.S.) dollar.
Speaking during swearing in of the new commissioners in Asaba, yesterday, Oborevwori also approved that workers from salary grade levels 1 to14 would run shifts, with first batch working from Monday to Wednesday, and second batch from Thursday to Friday every week, on a rotational basis.
With the arrangement, those who work from Monday to Wednesday in one week will work Thursday to Friday the following week to ensure fairness and equity.
The schedule for officers from grade levels 15 and above is to be worked out by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as it is suitable for them. However, staff members on essential services must be on duty, while working remotely is also encouraged, with the other arms of government, the judiciary and legislature are expected to work out their own modalities.
Having had consultations with the workers’ leadership at the local council level, the governor said he expected that local governments will implement the same palliative measures for its workers.
Oborevwori also recalled that he had earlier approved the payment of outstanding promotion arrears to 23,887 workers in the state public service at the cost of N5, 522,637, 848.05 in four tranches, starting with ministries, this month; judiciary, parastatals and Hospital Management Board (HMB), next month, higher institutions, in October, and Post-Primary Education Board in November this year.
He assured that the issue of unpaid local council pensions was being resolved, noting that his administration has helped to secure legislative approval for the local councils to obtain a N40 billion loan to enable them liquidate the backlog of pension liabilities.
The governor said that the loan, which is guaranteed by the state government, is payable over a five-year period and will be deducted from accounts of the councils.
The governor also recalled that he had given approval for the councils to recruit teaching and non-teaching staff to fill existing vacancies, hoping that at least 2,000 people will be gainfully employed through this process.
He stressed that the state government is currently carrying out a comprehensive audit of physical infrastructure in primary and secondary schools to know where there are gaps and respond accordingly to ensure a conducive environment for quality learning.
Credit: The Guardian
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