1st May, 2019
The Katsina State Government says it has so far spent about N25 billion on the payment of gratuities and pensions of retirees in the state since 2015 to date.
Aminu Masari disclosed this on Wednesday in Katsina at the National Workers’ Day celebration for 2019.
Masari, represented by the state’s Head of Service, Alhaji Idris Usman, said that was part of the administration’s determination to enhance human-capital development in recognition of the services they rendered to the state.
He further stated that government pays workers salaries promptly to boost their morale for effective service delivery.
”Katsina is a civil service state, so, when you pay salaries in good time, everybody will be happy and empowered,’’ he said.
Masari said that the government also spent N300 million on training and retraining of workers in the state during the period under review.
“A worker is like a vehicle engine, if you serviced it, it will function well, likewise, if the government train workers they will do more in actualizing its policies and programmes,’’ he said.
On the new National Minimum Wage, the governor assured workers that the government would follow due process before the implementation.
Earlier, the Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Hussaini Hamisu, assured workers that the union would engage with the government to actualize the implementation of the new minimum wage immediately the processes were completed.
‘’I request our workers to remain calm and be more committed and productive in their duties for the development of our dare state,’’ he said.
Hamisu also urged the government to continue to do more on the rehabilitation of schools, employment of qualified teachers and retraining of the teachers to improve the standard of education.
He also urged the government to employ more health personnel to enhance healthcare delivery.
The chairman called on the government to implement promotion of workers to enhance their capability.