Ondo strike: 2 workers die, another caught stealing

 …Industrial action paralyses govt activities

From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure

ON the first day of its in­dustrial action, two mem­bers of the Ondo State civil service have died owing to inability of the state gov­ernment to pay salaries for five months, the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) of the Nigeria Labour Con­gress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) said on Wednesday.

Chairman of the JNC, Mr. Sunday Adeleye, told newsmen in Akure, yes­terday, during monitoring of workers’ to the strike called by the NLC and TUC as a result of delayed sala­ries.

Adeleye added that an­other worker was caught stealing garri in Okitipupa town, Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state last week.

Some workers at the of­fices of the state’s Board of Internal Revenue and the Local Government Service Commission at Alagbaka, Akure, who opted not to participate in the indus­trial action, which com­menced on Wednesday, were flogged and chased out by the monitoring team. Also, yesterday, gov­ernment activities were paralysed in the state as a result of the strike.

Workers in the employ of the state government boycotted their offices, schools and hospitals, in compliance with the direc­tive of the leadership of the NLC and the TTUC.

NLC Chairman, Mrs. Bo­sede Daramola told news­men that the strike will continue until the state government honours an agreement reached with labour to pay two out of the five months outstand­ing salaries.

The NLC chairman, who monitored compliance of workers to the strike, said they were not ready to shift ground on the indefinite strike, which commenced on Tuesday.

But, the state govern­ment, in a statement is­sued by Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, appealed to the striking workers to resume work and continue nego­tiation with the govern­ment.

Akinmade said the eco­nomic crunch in the coun­try had affected the econ­omy of all the states of the federation, hence the in­ability of the government to pay its workforce.

He said implementation of the recommendations of the 2014 national confer­ence would solve the eco­nomic problems confront­ing the country.

Akinmadde urged prom­inent Nigerians to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure full im­plementation of the rec­ommendations.

Meanwhile, Ondo State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has com­mended labour unions in the state for embarking on strike to press home their demand, describing the ac­tion as long overdue.

Director of Media and Publicity of APC in the state, Mr. Steve Otaloro, in a statement, said work­ers have suffered greatly in the last five months due to non-payment of their salaries. He attributed the inability to pay the work­ers to wasteful spending on the part of the govern­ment. The APC spokesman also challenged Governor Olusegun Mimiko to ac­count for the bailout fund given to the state by the Federal Government.