From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Organised Labour in Ogun State has declared an indefinite strike over the refusal of the state government to pay 21 months’ salary deductions and the “pathetic plight” of workers in the state.
The leadership of the organised labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), declared the strike on Monday while addressing workers at the Arcade Ground at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The strike which takes effect from 12a.m on Tuesday will affect ministries, agencies, hospitals and public schools.
The union had last week given Governor Dapo Abiodun seven days to address their demands or face industrial action.
The strike followed the expiration of the ultimatum issued by the workers to Abiodun over his government’s inability to pay 21 months, non-payment of eight years of statutory leave allowances and breach of the State Pension Reform Law, 2006 (amended 2013) in the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme amongst other demands.
The workers who were singing solidarity songs against the government berated Abiodun for failing to honour the agreement contained in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2020.
Declaring the strike action, the Chairman of NLC in the state, Emmanuel Bankole, said the strike became imperative following several failed attempts to meet the governor over their plights, saying the government had failed to respond to over seven letters written to the government on the issue.
Bankole who was flanked by the Chairman of TUC, Akeem Lasisi and the Chairman of JNC, Isa Olude, directed all the workers in the employ of the state government to stay away from work.
According to him, the strike which will take effect from 12a.m Tuesday will be total and indefinite, declaring that “there is no going back until our demands are met by the government”.
Bankole said, “We are here today to take our destiny into our own hands. The leadership is ready. We must start a new beginning, we must tell them (government) that we are workers and we are not slaves. The time is now, a stop must be put to this.
“Our feature and the feature of the workers of Ogun state is in great jeopardy. Governance is a serious business and whoever that is not ready for it, I think it is time we tell such person to go home.
“Having given them enough time but they are so busy to attend to us, maybe if we go home for some time, they will have time to attend to our matter.
“There is no going back. We have given them so long rope to draw.
“It is my opinion and my conviction that Ogun state workers are saying that we should embark on a full-blown strike.
“We are embarking on indefinite strike from 12midnight, let all the workers stay back at home. The implication is that nobody is expected to work tomorrow.
“Anyone who reports for duty on Tuesday is a traitor and it has never been well with a traitor”.