Mixed reactions have continued to trail the recent announcement by the Imo State Government to reduce the number of working days for the state civil servants to three days from the constitutional five days. The state government under the “Back to Land for Agriculture”, had directed the civil servants to only work from Monday to Wednesday and use the other two days, Thursday and Friday to engage in farming to boost food production and the economy of the state.
The policy according to the State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, is to create an alternative means of boosting the economy of the state and creating wealth for the workers. The government also clarified that the implementation of the policy which began on the 1st of August will not affect the salaries and other entitlement of the workers, except the removal of all forms of casual and annual leave.
Given the reduction of the number of working days, one would have expected that the workers will laud the initiative with full compliance but the reverse is the case as the workers and the leadership of the Labour Union in the state described the policy as an aberration to the provisions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The Chairman of the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Austine Chilakpu in an interview with The Nation, said that the workers have rejected the policy in its entirety and will not comply with the 3-Working Day Policy.
According to him, the state government did not consult the workers to sample their opinion before going ahead with the policy, “if we were consulted, we should have advised the government on the right thing to do because what they have done is against the guidelines of the International Labour Organization and other such bodies”.
He continued that, “if the government wants the workers to engage in meaningful agriculture, it should grant them annual leave during the farming season so that they can go and cultivate their farms and not just announce a policy at the middle of the year when the farming season is over in this part of the country.
“And moreover it is not all the workers that have land to farm on. So government should first of all acquire enough land and allocate to the workers to cultivate or rather the state government should channel the policy towards creating employment for the teeming youths in the state by engaging them in the process instead of the civil servants that are already employed”.
Other workers who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also rejected the policy, noting that the state government has a sinister motive, which it will unveil as soon as the workers comply with the policy.
Other stakeholders, who spoke with The Nation, held that the policy, even though well intended, is not in line with the provisions of the constitution of the country.
Sir Kingsley Uzoechi, a retired civil servant, described the policy as “unusual”, adding that, “there are set of laws that govern the civil service system across the Federation and you cannot just wake up one day and come up with contrary arrangements without first of all revoking the existing law. Imo State cannot be different from other states.
“It is understandable that the states are going through difficult times as a result of the current economic situation in the country and as such should think of alternative means of survival but this does not include deliberate deviation from extant laws”.
But the Imo Governor, while urging the workers to embrace the policy, said that, “everything that has to do with agriculture no matter what shape it comes, government will support it. So many countries are going through economic crisis because of the fall in oil. Our nation is also going through very difficult moment. We have taken responsibility as leaders and we are not blaming anyone. Wise nations and leaders save for the rainy days.
“There were periods the oil price was in our favour. But those in charge then blew the money. They made no savings. Today the oil price globally has crashed and here we are. And we must fall back to agriculture as the panacea”.
Also the State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, insisted that the policy will go a long way to boost the economy of the state and the workers.
He said, “the policy is in the right direction, because even before now the civil servants don’t go to work on Thursdays and Fridays, when they normally go for their social activities like weddings and burial ceremonies. So what government has done is to convert these idle hours to meaningful venture, which will revive agriculture in the state.
“We have expanse of farming land lying fallow so if the workers cultivate these lands, not only will there be surplus food in the state, the workers themselves and their families will be better for it and while they are doing this, their salaries are not affected in anyway. I think it is a laudable policy”.
The Commissioner for Information and Utilities, Vitalis Ajumbe, said that was magnanimous enough to allow the workers two whole days every week to engage in private agricultural activities that will create wealth for them and their families.
According to him, “the current economic situation in the country calls for proactive and dynamic measures that will cushion the effect on the people, especially when payment of salaries are no more as regular as it used to be, such policy will therefore protect the workers from the adverse effect of the downturn of the economy”.
Also the traditional rulers in the state under the aegis of the Imo State Council of Traditional rulers, commended the state government for taking measures to revamp farming in the state.