By Bimbola Oyesola
Barring last-minute intervention by government, workers in Ogun State would commence an indefinite strike on Tuesday, after today’s (Monday) congress at the state arcade ground inside the governor’s office at Okemosan, Abeokuta.
Addressing labour reporters in Abeokuta at the weekend during the Labour Writers’ Association of Nigeria’s annual workshop, the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ogun State chapter, Emmanuel Bankole, said all the workers would meet at the state arcade today after the expiration of the one-week ultimatum issued to the governor.
“There’s no going back, the expiration of the ultimatum ends on Monday and all our members across the state would gather at the arcade to take final decision to commence indefinite strike immediately,” he said.
Bankole said the workers had given Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun enough time to respond to their letters, but, rather, the governor has failed to even acknowledge the letter not to talk of calling the union’s leadership to a dialogue.
Bankole insisted that the workers would embark on the industrial action as the state government has failed to address various concerns related to their welfare and pension issues.
The workers, in a press statement last week by the chairpersons of the NLC, Bankole, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Akeem Lasisi, and Isa Olude of Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), called attention to growing restiveness among employees in the state’s civil and public service.
The unions said they had called for immediate dialogue with the state government, and there has been neither official response nor acknowledgement to the letter as at date.
Bankole said organised labour in the state outlined six challenges facing workers in the state which the present administration has failed to tackle.
The NLC chairman accused the state government of failure to remit 21 months deductions of workers to recipients like cooperative societies, Bank loan repayment obligations, among others.
He said, Labour in the state also accused the state government of deliberate breach of the State Pension Reform Law, 2006 (amended 2013) in the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme.
He said, “What obtains, in the last thirteen (13) years, is one-sided practice of the Ogun State Pension Law [2006] amended in 2013 with unfailing monthly deduction of 7.5% of Basic salary from all State employees whilst the counter part payment of 7.5% from the State Government, as the law stipulates, is nil.
“Eight (8) years of unpaid Statutory Leave Allowances. (The current administration owes nearly four (4) years of it).”
On the restoration of payment of Gross Salary, the labour leader said it is evident that nearly all payment-related issues raised arise from the failure of the state government to give approval to the payment of gross salary.
He said the workers view the situation as state government deliberate policy of anti workers’ welfare programme to entrench poverty and spread of agonies.
According to him, the non implementation of Consequential Adjustment on Minimum Pension as mandated by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was disheartening, adding that as at date, the minimum pension in the State remain as paltry as five thousand (N5000)!
He enumerated other workers demand, “2021 and 2022 promotion exercise must be accorded the priority it deserved.
“The State Government have taken the statutory exercise as though it is a favour.
“Various agreements and official pronouncements of the State Government have been largely pitted in the negative.”
He lamented that the Organised Labour regards itself as partners in the project of advancing the socioeconomic fortunes of the state and thus has been quite accommodating in spite of failed promises.