Organised Labour in Kogi state has berated the state government for allegedly planning to proscribe various labour unions in the state if workers embarked on an indefinite strike this week.
A statement jointly issued by the Secretaries of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Olakunle Faniyi, Trade Union Congress, Comrade Kolawole James, and Alhaji I. A. Abubakar of Joint Public Sector Negotiating Council, in Lokoja yesterday, stated that the state government, led by Alhaji Yahaya Bello, had begun its antics of threats and intimidation of workers.
The statement read in part: “It is true that Kogi state government is threatening to proscribe NLC and TUC if workers embark on strike comes this Friday.
“This government has brought workers down to the lowest level and as such we fear neither fall nor sack or non-payment of salary.”
The Organised Labour, therefore, called on workers to disregard all the manoeuvring of government aimed at using flimsy and irrelevant innuendos to take attentions away from the core foundation of their agitations.
“We are resolute on saying NO to the casualisation of the Kogi state workforce through the clock-in-clock-out policy, we reject completely the attempt of government to use a hoarse contributory pension scheme to further impoverish workers, and we insist that government pay the salaries and pension scheme of worker and pensioners who have been denied salaries and pension for the past 21 months and other categories of arrears ranging from two to three months and we demand the immediate stoppage of percentage payment of salaries to primary schools teachers and local government workers.
“We, therefore, call on government to channel her energies towards meeting all the demands of workers and stop dissipating energy on the status of signatories of our bulletins.”
In a swift reaction, the Director-General, Media and Strategy to the Governor, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, said the state government had no issue with Labour in the state, noting that the unions need to re-appraise and reassess their stance on some issues.
“We have not made our position known on the letter they wrote to us. At the appropriate time, we shall make an official statement on the issue.
“We urge civil servants and members of the public to go about their legitimate businesses as government will do everything possible and legal to provide the right environment for civil servants that are willing to work.”
