Workers in Kaduna State have rejected deduction of 25 per cent from salaries of senior civil servants in the state as announced by Governor Nasiru Ahmad El-Rufa’i.
The State Governor had said career public servants earning a net pay of N67,000 and above after-tax will donate 25% of their pay monthly within the period of quarantine, all its senior appointees, including Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Special Advisers and Heads of Agencies will each donate N500,000 in April and subsequently donate 50% of their salaries until the quarantine ends.
According to the initial report, El-Rufai, however, explained that no public servant will have less than N50,000 monthly to manage within the emergency period.
But Speaking at a conference in Kaduna on Wednesday, the state NLC Chairman, Comrade Ayuba Magaji Suleiman said, government should stop the 25% deduction henceforth and should return the one already deducted from the workers.
He said that the deduction ought to have been done with the consent of the labour union and be made a voluntary donation, rather than forceful deduction. “Sequel to the deductions of 25% on the salary of all civil servants in Kaduna state, effective from April 2020, labour in Kaduna State unequivocally rejects this deduction. This is because the Union was not consulted on the issue nor consented to the deduction,” he said.
“Article 8 of the International Labour Organization Protection of Wages Convention, 1949, (No.95) provides that deduction from wages shall be permitted only under conditions and to the extent prescribed by the National Laws or regulations or fixed by collective agreement or arbitration award.”
“Section 5(1) of the Labour Act Cap 1.1 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 provides thus: “Except where it is expressly permitted by this act or any agreement or contract with a worker for any deductions or wages to be paid by the employer to the worker or any payment to the employer by the worker for or in respect of any fines provided that with the prior consent in writing of an authorized Labour officer a reasonable deduction may be made in respect of injury or loss caused to the employer by the willful misconduct or neglect of the worker.”
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