By JOHNSON EBIGIDE
The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council, Comrade Michael Ikeogwu, has called on government at all levels in Nigeria to introduce workable plans that would ensure prompt payment of retirement benefits to workers in the country.
Comrade Ikeogwu made the call at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, the state capital of Delta State, during the celebration of 2021 Workers Day in the state.
He said that the delay in payments of retirement benefits to workers had made meritorious service laughable in the society, adding that it had added to the spate of corruption in the service, as every civil servant was no longer interested in the hard-to-come benefits and had taken to unethical ways to enrich his or herself while in service.
The labour leader said that there was the need for the organised labour to continue to demand for better deals for workers in the country, adding that some unwholesome and inhuman practices which were introduced in the civil service during the colonial days to retard the career progression of civil servants were still in force in the country.
While commending the state government for placing high premium on the welfare of its workforce, Comrade Ikeogwu enjoined workers in the state to reciprocate the good gestures of the state government by being committed in the discharge of their duties, adding that the governor of the state, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, was not only labour friendly, but a man who conscientiously planned for the advancement of the workforce in the state.
He thanked the state governor for the speedy completion of the NUJ Press Centre in Asaba, adding that apart from the massive infrastructural development in the state, Governor Okowa had showcased rare managerial competence in the face of daunting obstacles.