On Tuesday, staff members of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, DICON, staged a protest in Kaduna to express their discontent over the non-payment of salary arrears, allowances, and other pending issues.
The aggrieved employees, all of whom are civilians, accused the federal government of neglecting them in terms of wage payments.
During the protest, the workers held banners outlining their grievances, which included being left out of the integrated payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and the non-payment of a six-month backlog of “palliative allowance”. They demanded prompt resolution or threatened to initiate a strike.
They also disclosed that DICON has not paid them the minimum wage since 2019, and promotions have been delayed consistently.
The management’s decision to exclude its workforce from IPPIS, a prevalent payroll system used by various federal agencies, raised suspicions concerning the nature of the “peculiar allowance” allocated to them.
Furthermore, amid preparations for the protest, a fire incident occurred in a disused factory building known as G3, leading to mutual accusations between the DICON management and the employees.
In response to the situation, a statement from the Public Relations Officer of DICON, Musa Yakubu, shared with NewsNow, acknowledged the outstanding arrears of allowances and entitlements. The management stated that measures had been taken to promptly settle the dues, including the provision of a “peculiar allowance” from 2023, and the payment of promotion arrears from 2020 and 2021.