THE strike declared by local government workers in Kwara State continues this week as the striking workers demand payment of three months’ salary.

The workers under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) declared the strike following non payment of salaries.

Secretary of NULGE in the state, Comrade Abayomi Afolabi spoke with Daily Trust yesterday, saying the money released to local governments last week was not enough to pay a month’s salary.

Our correspondent reports that local governments in the state are being owed four and half months.

It was learnt that the state Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC), following the workers’ strike held a meeting on Friday, where the sum of N1.4 billion was allocated to the LGs and the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

Some LG workers who were being owed salaries for four months’ confirmed receiving half pay after the JAAC meeting was held.

However, the NULGE secretary said the strike would continue, even as he added that the union would meet on Tuesday to review the amount the LGs received.

He said local governments alone were being owed salary arrears amounting to N1.6 billion, adding that the sum of N1.4 billion released last week comprised salaries of primary school teachers as well as local government pensioners.

Afolabi maintained that the LGs would only resume after payment of three months of salary arrears.

“The issue at stake is that they are owing us more than four and half months and what they gave us could only pay half salary and it is the local governments that wrote the federal government about the bailout. In May this year, we wrote the federal government that they are owing more than us N1.5 billion,” he said.