Ogun workers to resume suspended strike

On Feb 16, 2021

Barring any last-minute change, workers in the employ of the Ogun State Government will resume their suspended strike.

The workers, under the umbrella of Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, at an emergency meeting held last Friday, said the move became imperative due to haphazard implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached by the government side and the organised labour.

Ekinzoblogspot.com recalled that the workers, both Civil/ Public embarked on strike on strike on September 12, 2020, and suspended it, two days after.

In a statement signed by Council chairman, Comrade Folorunso Olanrewaju and Secretary, Comrade Adebiyi Olusegun, made available to Tribune Online in Abeokuta, on Tuesday, noted that all the agreements in the MoU had a timeline, which was not implemented by the government.

The Council said that only the New Minimum Wage was effected on October 1, against the agreement reached with the government that the new wage would commence in January 2020.

It expressed displeasure that in spite of nearly twelve (12) months delay of its implementation, the government had failed to speak on payment of arrears nor readiness to.

The Council also said that the state government had failed to implement the promise to earmark on the sum of N500,000,000.00 for the payment of gratuity which government pledged to commence last January.

The statement reads, “It miffed the Council to note that out of the items on the widely publicised MoU only the New Minimum Wage was effected on October 1, 2020, as agreed. Council recalled the August 2019 talks with the state government where it was agreed that the new wage will commence in January 2020. In spite of nearly twelve (12) months delay of its implementation, it is shocking still that the State government neither spoke on payment of arrears nor readiness to.

“The promise to earmark on a quarterly basis, half a billion naira, (#500,000,000.00) for the payment of gratuity which the State government pledges to start, latest by January 2021 has been found to be unfounded. Retirees of both the State and of the Local Governments have continued to groan in misery even as some have died in utter regret ever serving the state.

“The process leading to the implementation of promotions of 2018, 2019, 2020 with 2021 falling due in July have only manifested in the rhetoric rather than in reality. The current administration came into office on May 29, 2019.

iii) Precisely two weeks back, 2020 Pension Amendment Bill got the hurried measure with subtle blackmail of the Organised Labour that the quicker the amendment is passed the earlier the State government will access its much-sought Bond, part of which, as peddled by the State government, will be allocated to offsetting arrears of gratuity of retirees. Clearly, the State government is manipulating sides to buy time.

“Backlog of unpaid leave allowances for up to seven years now have largely been ignored. The current administration owes two years out of the accumulated unpaid allowances.

“Further, deductions from workers’ into the dysfunctional Contributory Pension Scheme continue unabated. Neither deductions made from workers salaries nor that of the State/Local Governments counterpart had been remitted so far even by the current administration. The current administration owes precisely the equal months since assumption of office.

“Above all, upon all reasonings and considerations, the state government thought it best to stifle the life out of the economically struggling workers by deliberately withholding their voluntary savings. No doubt, the self-funded superstructures of the ubiquitous, age-old cooperative system have collapsed in the state.

“It should be noted that the current administration inherited zero unremitted cooperative deductions from workers voluntary savings but has however championed owing same in the last 13 months as at January 2021! Were the current administration being truthful to its pledges, especially in the payment of workers salary in gross in the first instance, most of these issues would not have manifested. The state government had succeeded in paying lip service to the payment of salaries of workers in full up till now!

“Albeit included in the MoU that March 2021 would serve the evaluation period of its performance, it is pertinent to mark it that each of these issues comes with a timeline but all of which had been breached. In view of these myriads of unresolved issues, the Joint Council hereby places the State government on notice that the suspended strike of September 2020 would be resumed in a matter of days. Workers of the State/Local Governments have had enough of being treated as afterthoughts.”