Oyo Workers Issue 24-hour Ultimatum Over Demands
The workers in Oyo State under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Thursday gave Oyo State Government 24-hour ultimatum to meet its demands or face strike action.
Few days to the inauguration of new government, workers in Oyo State have also threatened to embark on strike and paralyse government activities of the new government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The workers in a statement signed by the NLC chairman, Comrade Bayo Titlola-Sodo, said they would embark on strike should government failed to address the ongoing primary school teachers’ strike in the state.
Titlola-Sodo had hinted of the impending strike while hosting journalists to iftar (breaking of fast) at the NULGE secretariat, Challenge, Ibadan.
He said, “No government should treat workers as slaves. Let there be justice on how we relate with fellow citizens. A number of teething issues had been on ground since 2011 when the outgoing government came into power.”
The NLC chairman who lauded the federal government on the directives to the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit on local government allocations, was quick to add that the state government had usurped the powers of the local governments for far too long.
He said there was no excuse for any state government not to pay the new minimum wage of N30, 000 recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In another two-page statement jointly signed by the NLC secretary, Mohamed Ibrahim and the secretary of Joint Negotiating Council, Lukman Balogun, after a meeting of all public service union in the state, included; payment of at least one month arrear of salary to some local government workers.
Those affected and said to be at the receiving end, were council workers in Lagelu, Egbeda, Ogbomoso North and South, Surulere and Ibadan North West Local Governments.
The Congress said that the state government should pay the remaining arrears of salary to health workers under the umbrella of JOHESU, and immediate enhancement of security within the state hospital, at ring road, Ibadan.
It also appealed to the Governing Board of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital to reinstate the sacked workers at the hospital and release letter of promotion up to 2016 as being enjoyed by other sectors in the state.
The labour union, however said that,’’ if all the above demands were not met within 24 hours, the leadership of all union in the Public Service in Oyo State shall not be able to guarantee industrial peace and harmony in the state with effect from Friday 24th of May 2019.”
