CLA actually stands for cost of living allowance. For a significant number of us in Nigeria it is what we need to use to pay for our food as we are not fed by client oil companies and either have to pay for meals in a company staff house whose catering has now been contracted out to a local company, or we have to feed ourselves. In the latter case this may be by choice or in some cases (the few people still on 5/1 month contracts) by necessity. This is going to make life very difficult as if one is in-country for a few months it will be necessary to carry in several thousand dollars to pay for food as Nigeria is very expensive and most of us don't have the opportunity to be able to visit a local bank even if the money were paid into a local account. In the present security situation the prospect of travelling around in the Delta with large sums of money is not something which fills me with joy.
That coupled with the lack of any news about a pay review for this year means that morale, already at rock bottom has now fallen to subterranean levels
The quality of life here in the last few years has declined considerably as a result of militant activity; it's pretty desperate when now our own employers are adding to the misery
