The governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, has approved the payment of weigh-in allowance for staff of parastatals in the Ministry of Information, including the Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS) and The Pointer newspaper.

The approval effectively meets the key demand of the three unions in the Ministry of Information who had embarked on industrial action to press for the payment of the allowance. Earlier on Monday, December 22, 2014, the Commissioner for Information, Chike Ogeah Esq, alongside the Head of Service, Mr. Patrick Origho, had met the leaders of the three unions – the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Radio, Television and Theatre Workers’ Union (RATTAWU) and the National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers (NUPPPROW) – where they were assured of the governor’s readiness to approve the payment of the allowance.

Dr. Uduaghan, who was out of the state when the unions began their industrial action on December 18 promptly approved the payment of the allowance on returning to Asaba. In effect, Delta State becomes the first state to approve the payment of the weigh-in allowance. Until now, only workers at the federal level had been earning the allowance.

Reacting to the approval for the payment of the allowance by the governor, Ogeah said the unions are expected to immediately call off their action in line with the agreement reached at the Monday meeting.

Ogeah expressed appreciation of the government with the unions for the maturity displayed in the meeting and urged them to redouble their commitment to increasing productivity. He said the upgrade of the two arms of the DBS with world class broadcast equipment in readiness for the digitization deadline will be completed within two weeks and called on the workers to brace up for the new challenges.