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…Dissociates union from award given to Imo gov
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned state councils giving awards to state governors to desist, henceforth, or face disciplinary actions.
This is even as it dissociated itself from the award purported to have been given to the Imo State governor by the state council of the NLC.
The NLC, in a resolution from its National Administrative Council (NAC) meeting signed by its president, Joe Ajaero, and the General Secretary, Emman Ugboaja, noted that the congress strongly condemned in unmistakable terms the meddlesome actions of some governors in the internal affairs of congress, especially during the last State Delegates’ Conference of the NLC in all the states of the federation.
The congress in the resolution warned all the state councils of the congress currently granting phoney endorsements and awards to politicians and individuals to desist forthwith to avoid disciplinary actions.
The NLC vowed to take immediate disciplinary action against all officers who are working with some state governors to flagrantly defy the orders of the National Administrative Council and the Central Working Committee (CWC) as it concerns the outcome of the State Delegates Conference.
The statement read that the NLC equally warned all state council officers of the congress who are in the habit of colluding with governors to cover their various atrocities against workers in their states to stop immediately or face severe sanctions.
“It is either they choose to serve workers and remain in office or become conduits for fleecing workers and leave. The choice is clear and its theirs,” the resolution read.
Noting that its attention has been drawn to “some news circulating in the media concerning a misleading award that was said to have been given by state Council Executives in Imo State to a governor who has refused to implement fully the national minimum wage, owes workers arrears of salaries, pensioners owed years in pensions,” the NLC said it knew nothing about the award.
“The NLC has only one leadership in Imo State and that is the Caretaker Committee led by Comrade George Ofoegbu which emerged from the violent disruption of our State Delegates’ Conference held in March, 2023 by agents of the Government of Imo state,” Ugboaja stated yesterday.
He declared that any other person or groups parading themselves as NLC leaders in the state were on a self-frolic, on their own and are not officially known to the NLC.
He said, “We are not in the habit of giving awards to organisations, individuals and governments whose actions do not bring succour and comfort to workers.
“We do not honour those who dishonour workers and we truly do not have any love for those who flagrantly defy the basic ethics that protects the world of work. It is not in our tradition to embrace those that seek to enslave our members and any group that works in cahoot with such individuals clearly shows that they are not part of us but an image of their creator.”
Ugboaja said it is the responsibility of NLC to warn members of the public, institutions and social partners that anybody that does any business with this creation of the Imo state Government on behalf of the Congress does so at his own risks.
“Those individuals do not represent us and no action of theirs have anything to do with us and the NLC will not be held liable,” he emphasised.
He added that until otherwise decided, the Caretaker Committee remains the NLC only representatives in Imo state and social partners and institutions should continue to conduct various engagements with them.
He maintained that the NLC shall continue to stand with Imo state workers and ensure that they are delivered from the clutches of the current wickedness pervading the Industrial space in the state.
Meanwhile the NLC has commended the federal government on its just announced Salary award decision to public servants in the country.
“This we are sure is in recognition of the extent to which its policies of last two years have caused hyperinflation in the country and deeply eroded the real wages of Nigerian workers,” the Congress noted.
The NLC also added that it has began a constructive and selective engagement with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment over its various interference in the internal affairs of the NLC contrary to the rules of engagement as Social partners until satisfactory remedial steps are taken.
The NLC said it demands a clean copy of the tripartite reviewed Laws Governing Labour administration in the country from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to verify its consistency with what was agreed.
