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Workers Day: NASS committed to improved welfare, says Saraki

The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has promised that the National Assembly under his leadership will support all efforts aimed at ensuring workers are adequately rewarded and well catered for.
Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja on Tuesday, also described workers as the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.
“They (workers) form the bedrock on which the building blocks of any sustained national development can be laid,” he said.
He called on the workers to continue to put in their best in any sector they find themselves, saying that their efforts shall never be in vain.
“There can be no economic growth without the contribution of workers and there can be no national development without economic development.
“Our workers play crucial roles in all we attained as a nation and that fact needs to be recognised always.”
He added: “On this Workers’ Day 2018 celebrations, I salute all Nigerian workers for their sacrifice and resilience in the face of dwindling economic fortunes.
“What they put in daily to ensure that the ship of state continues to run is tremendous when considered holistically and I want to urge them not to relent in their efforts to help grow the economy in particular and the National in general.
“The National Assembly will always support all efforts geared towards improving their remuneration and General conditions of service and living.”
He however called on workers’ unions to always toe the path of peace and dialogue in making their demands, as both employers and employees need one another to succeed.
Similarly, the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahab Oba, said workers remain indispensable companions in his administration’s quest to building a prosperous Kwara for all.
He said the government could not have achieved remarkable achievements in various sectors of the economy without the contributions and support of the workforce.
Ahmed, who congratulated the workers on the occasion of May Day, assured them that the present administration would continue to prioritise their welfare through improved working condition with a view to enhancing their productivity.
He reassured the workers that his government would not renege in prompt payment of salaries and other benefits despite the prevailing economic realities.
The governor also promised to complete ongoing secretariat complex on schedule, he urged workers to sustain their loyalty, dedication to duty and efficient service delivery in order to build a virile civil service and move the state to the next level.   Muslim group urges FG on arrears, gratuities of pensioners
As the country marked its Workers Day on Tuesday, the Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria (MMWG) has called on the Federal Government in the spirit of the celebration to release sufficient funds to Pension Transition Administration Directorate (PTAD) to settle all the arrears and gratuities senior citizens who are being owed for several years.
The group in a statement signed on Tuesday by the Coordinator, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi
alleged that one of the basis of corruption and low productivity in Nigeria, is the poor treatment of pensioners, which make current serving officers to indulge in corruption in order to fall back on something after retirement.
The group applauded the workers for their sacrifices and high commitment to their duties. It added that the patriotism has been the driving force of the labour unions particularly the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC), Trade Union Congress((TUC)  and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
“At this point, we call for settlement of all outstanding salaries of public service workers in Nigeria, failure of which violators should be denied votes in the 2019 elections.
“It is not that the state governments are not able to pay workers, but corruption, materialistic tendencies and greediness of those at the helms of affair have been the problem.
“We therefore believe that some governors will face criminal charges after 2019 elections than we have witnessed so far.”
The MMWG added that without tackling the root-cause of certain crime, such a misdeed cannot be wiped-off.
The group urged the FG to without further delay approve and implement Media Salary Scale (MSS) for all working journalists in public service media organisations.
“The delay on this request which spanned several years is unjustifiable as journalists are working under stressful conditions which requires better remuneration package,” it said, adding that it will be unfair if medical personnel are under MSS, when journalists are being neglected.
The MMWG however said urgent steps must be taken by the Federal Government to prevent strike action in the health sector, warning against the imminent closure of health facilities, a situation which could lead to mishap

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