Labour War Looms Over Working days in Imo

Another round of labour war looms in Imo State, following a plan by Governor Rochas Okorocha to reduce the official working days from five to three, for civil and public servants in the State.

According to Vanguard, Okorocha made the disclosure while fielding questions from journalists in Owerri, reasoned that the workers “could use the two extra days to engage in any private business enterprise of their choice, particularly farming to augment their income”. 

He furthered said, he would present it to the Executive council for approval and stressed that “Ndigbo are not mainly civil and public servants but aggressive pursuers of their destinies. 

Meanwhile, the State Chairman of Nigeria Labor Congress, NLC, Comrade Austin Chilakpu has described the Governor’s proposal as “reprehensible, a slap on the Nigerian constitution and the biggest joke of the year and that neither the governor nor the state legislature has the power to alter the work days of civil and public servants.”

According to the labour leader, the international Labour Law prescribes that a worker  must put in 40 hours per week adding that this translates to eight hours per day and that “holidays and annual leave were built in to enable workers to take care of the needs the Governor is talking about and that the reduction of work days must be another way to justify the inexplicable salary  cut of workers.