The recent increase in prices of petroleum products resulting in economic woes are far reaching as no sector is left untouched.
In the non profit sector of the country, it seems the Nigerian staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are amongst the hardest hit as reports coming from the staff of the emergency response agency suggest that if nothing is done fast from the head office there are possibilities of a workers strike in the coming days.
The ICRC has been working in Nigeria for more than three decades providing assistance to victims of the armed conflict in northeast Nigeria.
Reliable sources in the Agency says the workers strike, if it happens, is predicated on the unsatisfactory response of the organization to the recent economic challenges faced by its staff. The source who does not want her name on prints stated that one of the major complaints of members of staff is that they now spend more than half of their salaries on transportation alone.
They are also disappointed that management maintained an unhealthy silence on the matter even as recent economic policies continued to bite harder.
This dissatisfaction on the part of the Nigerian staff runs deeper though. They have long maintained that they are not well remunerated when compared to their expatriate counterparts who earn their salaries in CHF (Swiss Francs) which at the time of filing this report, exchanges at NGN 891.
Not only are their foreign counterparts well paid, huge sums are spent on providing them additional perks of office which includes a furnished accomodations and official cars, free education for their children and other benefits the source says.
Findings show that the average school fees for one child is over ten million Naira annually.
In her words, “Family members of our expatriate colleagues earn more than us, the disparity in the benefits of local staff in comparison with the expatriate staff are simply outrageous.” she noted
Some members of staff also believed that Nigerians are also the lowest paid staff globally.
Against this backdrop of economic difficulties and job dissatisfaction, the Nigerian staff appealed to management to address their financial situation. In response management offered a temporary allowance to last for two months which one staff described as “not enough to buy me half a tank of petrol.”
The offer was roundly rejected on two occasions. In complete disregard of their wishes, the management proceeded to pay the allowance. Most of the staff returned the money almost immediately.
The ICRC has been working in Nigeria for more than three decade providing assistance to victims of armed conflict in Nigeria.
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