TEXTILE WORKERS APPEAL TO NORTHERN GOVS OVER N700M ARREARS

BY EMEKA MAMAH
KADUNA-Textile workers in the country have urged the Northern Governors' Forum, NGF, and Kaduna State Governor, Mr. Patrick Yakowa, in particular, to intercede on their behalf to ensure the payment of about N700 million owed their members by Kaduna Textiles Limited, KTL, and Arewa Textiles Plc, since 2002.

The workers said efforts made, including court cases, to get the management of the companies pay the entitlements yielded no results while their members were dying in penury and appealed to Yakowa and NGF to intervene in the matter.

The appeal, contained in a letter, entitled, ''Urgent call on Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa to intervene in the non-payment of entitlements of workers of KTL, Nortex/Finetex Limited and Arewa Textiles Plc, Kaduna'' was signed by the Area Secretary, Mr Ukiri  Omakeno.

The letter read in part, ''The union wishes to once again appeal to the Governor of Kaduna State,  Patrick Yakowa, in particular, and all the Northern governors to intervene in the non-payment of entitlements of workers of KTL, Nortex/Finetex Limited and Arewa Textiles Plc.

We are increasingly concerned about the plight of these workers and the untold hardship they are passing through due to long lay-off from work without pay.

A good number of these workers have died in the course of the struggle for payment of their entitlements.'