The Labour Leaders in Ogun State have announced that the Workers would on Thursday begin an indefinite strike over an alleged government refusal to pay them their allowances and salary deductions.
The Labour Leaders had on September, 29 given the government a 21-day ultimatum to meet their demands or they would go on strike. The ultimatum expires on Thursday.
The Workers Leaders demanded “Immediate payment of outstanding 12 months Unions’ Check off Dues, Outright Stoppage of the Contributory Pension Deductions and immediate payment of 12 months of global deductions.”
While addressing a Press Conference in Abeokuta on Monday, leaders of organised Labour comprising the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), stated that their decision to embark on the strike was imperative because the government had failed to take them serious.
The JNPSNC Chairman, Comrade Olakanmi Abiodun explained that the leadership of the Unions suspended the workers’ strike in March as a result from appeals from Paramount Rulers in the State, the State House of Assembly and well meaning citizens of the State, stressing that up to date, the government had failed fulfil its pledge to meet their demands.
According to him, “we viewed the inaction of the Ogun State government as being deliberate, calculative and designed to make the civil servants poorer”.
Olakanmi disclosed “The workers can no longer tolerate the bluff of the State government.”
The State Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Akeem Ambali said the workers have suffered enough, stressing “It is a total strike. If they call us we will not answer”.
But In a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa, on Monday, the state government wondered why these few, unpopular elements would seek to lead workers out on a misguided strike action since government has not defaulted in the payment of salaries as and when due.
"We promised to pay outstanding gratuities when we receive bulk funds from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) but this has not been forthcoming due to the dwindling revenue profile of the state,” Barrister Adeoluwa said.
In addition to this, the Ogun State government is also aware of the fact that under the extant Public Service rules, the TUC/NLC, which signed the notice of strike action issued on Monday, have no roles in calling workers out on a strike action at the state level. On the contrary, it is only the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council that is authorized to do so.
In view of this, the Ogun State government therefore declares the proposed strike action as illegal, unreasonable and totally uncalled for while urging the generality of its workforce not to heed the call of a few misguided elements whose motive is clearly political.
To buttress this point, the SSG said information at the disposal of the state government has shown that the labour leaders have ulterior motives beyond the protection of the interest of workers. This is further exemplified by what played out during the commemoration of the 2016 World Teachers Day when labour leaders, against the grain of Civil Service Rules, hired a musician and sang the praise of a politician for hours on end.
In the circumstance, the state government hereby serves notice that it will invoke the ‘no work, no pay’ rule of the Trade Dispute Act in relation to any worker who choses to embark on this illegal strike action.
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