Sit-at-Home Fallout: Anambra Workers See Major Salary Cuts

The Anambra State Government has implemented salary deductions for civil servants who failed to report to work on Mondays, following a sit-at-home order by separatist groups in the South-East.

The state had announced in January that it would adopt a pro-rata payment system, reducing salaries of workers absent on Mondays. Reports from the Jerome Udoji State Secretariat in Awka indicate that February salary alerts showed significant deductions, prompting complaints from affected employees.

Several workers said the deductions did not consistently reflect the number of Mondays missed. One staff member from the Ministry of Information, speaking anonymously, said a colleague received only N100 for February, while he received N3,500 of an over N80,000 salary. Another reported a N10,000 cut despite limited absences.

Commissioner for Information Dr. Law Mefor confirmed the deductions, explaining that they are intended to enforce Monday attendance. He noted that workers must clock in and out as proof of attendance, and failure to do so is treated as absence.