Abia Civil Servants Appeal To Gov. Otti To Prioritize Workers’ Welfare, Decry Non-Implementation Of Promotions

Civil servants in Abia State have appealed to the state governor, Dr. Alex Otti, to do more in improving the welfare of workers in the state.

The workers made the call on Saturday during a Spin 95.3 FM interactive programme, “Voices of the East,” where they lamented that since the inception of the present administration, promotion of civil servants has not been implemented.

According to the callers who phoned in during the live programme, the failure to implement promotions has dampened morale among workers and created a sense of stagnation in the state civil service.

One of the callers, who identified himself as Chinedu from Umuahia, said many workers have remained on the same grade level for several years without promotion, despite being due for advancement.

“Since this administration came on board, we have not seen any promotion. We are working, but we are not growing. A civil service without promotion is a demotivated service,” he lamented.

Another caller from Umuahia alleged that even the few workers who were recently promoted are still being paid based on their old salary structures, making the promotion meaningless.

“They promoted some people on paper, but their salaries are still the same. What is the essence of promotion without financial benefits? Promotion should come with its corresponding salary increase,” he said.

Another caller who identified himself as Deacon Abraham lamented that the Abia State government is yet to pay the wage award for retired civil servants in the state as approved by the federal government.

The workers also called on the governor to address other welfare issues including training and retraining of staff, timely payment of leave allowances, and improvement of working conditions in ministries and agencies.

They commended Governor Otti for his regular payment of salaries, which they described as a major improvement compared to previous administrations, but stressed that welfare goes beyond salary payment.

They urged the state government to set up a mechanism to review and implement outstanding promotions and ensure that promotions are backed with appropriate financial benefits.

According to them, prioritizing workers’ welfare will boost productivity, enhance service delivery and strengthen the governor’s relationship with the workforce.

Efforts to get reaction from government officials were unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.