Workers in Imo State yesterday reported for work in disobedience to a directive by the government that they take off Thursday and Friday every week from their respective offices after working Monday to Wednesday.

Imo State government recently announced the new policy introducing a three-day workweek effective Monday through Wednesday, a policy which officially commenced Monday, August 1st.

Government said it meant the two work-free days, Thursday and Friday, to enable the workers engage in farming.

But yesterday which should have been the workers’ first free day, workers at various ministries and parastatals were in their usual offices working.

In a response to the development, Governor Rochas Okorocha has appealed to the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state to show understanding over the new policy.

The NLC leaders were reported to have ordered the workers to ignore the directive.

The governor in a statement issued in Owerri by his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, urged them to appreciate that the policy was meant to allow workers to use Thursdays and Fridays to farm, except workers on essential duties like teachers, nurses, doctors, political appointees and IGR personnel.

He said the workers were not asked to go home to stay idle but to dutifully engage in farming, which would not only help their individual economies but would also boost the economy of the state.

The governor declared that the development was in the best interest of everyone and would not affect the salaries of the workers. (Daily Trust)

•Photo shows Governor Okorocha.