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Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Following unresolved issues relating to unpaid benefits, the Ekiti State organised labour has directed workers to proceed on a three-day warning strike beginning from Monday, August 3.
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 pay outstanding salaries, allowances and pension arrears of their members.
The State government and organised labour have been 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 10 years.
Other payments in contention include: leave bonus from 2015 till date, arrears of promotion for workers at all levels, deductions and implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage across board.
The outstanding payments, accumulated under Governor Ayodele Fayose became an albatross for Fayemi, having promised to defray the arrears totaling N57 billion within his first year in office.
The directive was contained in a statement jointly signed by the Chairmen of NLC, Kolapo Olatunde; TUC, Sola Adigun and JNC, Kayode Fatomiluyi, on Friday.
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.
