The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) yesterday demanded that the Federal Government within the next 14 days pay 30% worker’s salary as stimulus payment to all federal workers to cushion the effect of the present economic hardships.
The Forum, in a letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari and signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, stressed that there is the urgent need for government to come to the rescue of federal workers “by bringing forth a cost of living allowance package” for them and the Nigerian society in general.
The FWF said: “It is evident to us all that the economy is daily making life difficult for federal workers. Inflation and daily devaluation of our naira has added to reducing the purchasing power of the Nigerian workers. Cost of living crisis has confronted the Nigerian workers and hardship has become the order of the day.
“Considering the fact that Nigeria is a low wage country, the ?30,000 minimum wage will no doubt make Nigeria workers count among the 133 million multi dimensionally poor people as proposed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
“We, therefore, call on the government to come to our rescue and bring forth a cost of living allowance package for all federal workers and by extension the Nigerian society within the next fourteen days, else federal workers nationwide will be compelled to begin a permanent nationwide protest immediately this ultimatum elapses.
“We believe that our country has what it takes to help her workers out of hardship. We are proposing the payment of 30% of the worker’s salary as stimulus payment to all federal workers and that our government should generate stimulus package for households.
“Most workers had gone borrowing on killer loans in order to survive. Households have been badly affected and workers are gradually getting more and more frustrated. As a matter of fact, federal workers are suffering in silence, and we know that other workers in Nigeria share similar fate”.
