TheCable

The Kaduna state government has chided the organised labour on threats to proceed on strike if the government failed to stop ongoing verification of workers.

Speaking through Samuel Aruwan, his media aide, Nasiru el-Rufai, governor of the state, warned that any worker who failed to participate in the verification exercise would be removed from payroll.

He said the verification was compulsory, as it would aid the administration in updating its pay record.

On the threats by labour, the governor “public servants first became employees before they became union members”.

“Cooperation with the employer to verify the status of every worker is expected. It cannot be made a reason for industrial action,” the governor said in a statement.

“Refusal to participate in verification will result in the concerned persons being removed from the payroll.

“The labour leadership seems to be afraid that workers will opt-out of joining unions.

“If that be the case, the unions should seek ways to increase their attraction to workers, including persuading them to opt for continued membership.

“Inciting workers against a legitimate process of updating their personnel records is counter-productive.”

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state had urged workers to ignore government’s directive to indicate whether to belong to unions or not.

The unions said they regarded the exercise as a deliberate attempt strangle labour movement in the state.