WORKERS in Ogun State under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress on Monday embarked on an indefinite strike over what they termed the “pathetic plight” of workers across the state.
The strike, which kicked off last night by midnight, will ground ministries, hospitals and public schools as well as other government agencies and parastatals.
The leadership of organised labour in the state had last week given the state government a seven-day ultimatum to address their demands or face an indefinite industrial action.
Organised labour had expressed its grievances against the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, over his refusal to pay salary deductions for 21 months and unpaid Statutory Leave Allowances for the past eight years.
This, the labour union said, was a breach of the State Pension Reform Law, 2006 (amended 2013) in the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Their grievances were contained in a letter dated June 21 and addressed to Governor Abiodun.
The letter was jointly signed by the State Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Emmanuel Bankole; Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Akeem Lasisi; and the Chairman of the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), Comrade Isa Olude.
Following the expiration of the ultimatum, the labour leaders on Monday afternoon addressed workers at the Arcade ground at the state secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, where they declared an indefinite strike.
Comrade Bankole said the government had failed to yield to organised labour’s several calls for negotiation, stating that the indefinite strike would allow the government have a rethink and call for a dialogue.
“Anyone who reports for duty tomorrow (Tuesday) is a traitor and it has never been well with a traitor,” Comrade Bankole added.
