The Jigawa State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Jigawa government’s implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Management System (IPPMS) payment platform, citing various hardships inflicted on the state’s workers.
Comrade Sunusi Maigari, the Jigawa State chairman of the NLC, voiced these concerns during the 2024 International Workers Day celebration at Aminu Kano Triangle in Dutse, the state capital.
In his address, Comrade Maigari highlighted the challenges faced by workers during the rushed and poorly organized data capture exercise for the IPPMS.
He noted instances of extortion where workers were coerced into paying various sums of money.
Furthermore, Comrade Maigari lamented the arduous conditions endured by workers, many of whom were compelled to sleep on tarmacs and open spaces for days to participate in the exercise, which could have been efficiently conducted remotely with the aid of technology.
Of particular concern was the failure of the consultant to accurately capture over 7,800 legitimate workers, erroneously labelling them as ghost workers in what appeared to be an effort to maximize their commission
“To add to the workers’ woes, the state government has rushed to adopt the payment of salaries for the month of April 2024 with IPPMS platform which led to massive cases of underpayment of staff of those that has so far paid, there’s hardly a single staff who was paid their correct salary figures”, Maigari emphasis.
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The chairman said the exercise has not only thrown workers into uncertainties but denied the majority of them both working with local and state government not to receive their April 2024 salaries.
The Chairman described the situation as unprecedented and required urgent government attention, and added that IPPMS has unexpectedly led to the massive underpayment of staff, added that of those that are so far paid, there’s hardly a single staff who was paid their correct salary figure.
Jigawa NLC therefore called on the state government to ensure that the migration to the IPPMS payment platform is conducted in such a way that workers are not affected by any hidden charges, or unnecessary bottlenecks, saying the experience of the Jigawa state government with IPPMS has so far been harrowing.
He further called on the state government to always put their people first, saying a state long known as a state workers-friendly state, “putting workers first is almost synonymous with putting the Jigawa People first.
“When civil servants smile, the whole state smiles, when the economy of civil servants improves, the state’s economy improves, when civil servants in Jigawa state suffer, the whole state suffers with us”. He noted.
While speaking the JIgawa state governor Malam Umar Namadi represented by his Deputy, Aminu Usman said the introduction of IPPMS was done in good faith not not witchunt any state worker, saying the state government is committed to the welfare of civil servants in the state.
Governor Namadi explained that his administration has introduced agricultural policy for state workers and retirees to provide them with free land and inputs to enable them sustained their means of livehood especially after retirement from active service.