The organised labour in Ekiti State has announced the commencement of a three-day warning strike on Monday, August 3 to protest the failure of the state government to pay its members’ entitlements.
The strike, according to the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and Joint Negotiating Council, JNC, was to pressure Governor Kayode Fayemi to offset outstanding salaries, allowances and pension arrears of their members.
The State government and organised labour have been embroiled in a cold war over unpaid seven months salary arrears of local government workers and primary school teachers, as well as pensioners, three-month arrears for secondary school teachers, and civil servants and outstanding gratuities spanning over ten years.
Other contentious payments include: leave bonus from 2015 to date, arrears of promotions for workers at all levels, deductions, and implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage across the board.
The outstanding payments, which progressively accumulated during Governor Ayodele Fayose’s regime became an albatross for Fayemi, having promised to defray the arrears totalling N57 billion within one year he assumed office for his second term.
The directive was contained in a statement jointly signed by the Chairmen of NLC, Com. Kolapo Olatunde, TUC, Com. Sola Adigun and JNC, Com Kayode Fatomiluyi, on Friday, July 31, 2020.
The labour said: “The warning strike called by the Organized Labour in Ekiti will commence on Monday, 3rd August, 2020 at 12:00am.
“Fellow workers the State Government is yet to attend to any of our requests such as: Financial Promotion for the years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 yet to be implemented.
“No Commitment to all outstanding deductions such as cooperative money, loan repayment to banks, housing fund, and so on”, the statement said.
The demands also include: “Leave Bonuses for five years, in fact, pensioners are suffering. Hazard Allowance for COVID-19 to Health Workers, many Months of salary arrears and deductions yet to be paid; Workers are suffering. Minimum Wage and consequential adjustment now become an abandoned project and mirage.
“Flowing from the above, the strike action will commence from 12:00 am on Monday, 3rd August, 2020, except government attends to our demands.
“No worker should go to work or listen to any directive from any quarters, except from the leadership of the organized labour in Ekiti State”.
Source: The Nation
