The Ogun State Government has described the proposed strike
action called by a few disgruntled elements in the state chapter of the Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) as illegal.
In a statement issued by the Secretary to the State
Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa, on Monday, the state government wondered
why this 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.
For instance, the Ogun State government paid its workers
September salaries on September 25, 2016.
With regards to the backlog of unpaid cooperative
deductions, the SSG added that the state government has also kept faith with an
agreement it reached with labour leaders in March 2016 to the effect that one
month of cooperative deductions would be paid, alongside monthly salaries,
every two months.
"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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