Friday, 22 September 2017

Kogi workers begin strike tomorrow




     Organised labour in Kogi State on Thursday directed all civil servants in the state to begin indefinite strike action with effect from tomorrow,  Friday Sept.22 following government's failure to meet their demands.

     Daily Trust reports that the labour unions comprising Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) Public Service Joint Negotiating Council had earlier issued strike notice to the state government over issues bordering on unpaid salaries, contributory pension scheme, introduction of clock-in-clock-out system for civil and other sundry demands, which elapsed Thursday.
  
   State Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Ranti Ojo, who addressed newsmen on behalf of the unions, said the strike was the "only lifeline" left for Kogi workers to negotiate their survival in the hands the present administration in the state. The organised labour charged workers to remain resolute and discountenance all forms threats, intimidation and blackmail from government quarters, adding "our fidelity to this struggle is non-negotiable."

     "This is because, never in the history of our state have civil servants recorded the massive hunger induced death as being witnessed currently, not to talk of the trauma, anguish, pains, sickness, penury, truncation of children's education, huge unsettled house rent/medical bills etc that workers/pensioners are currently experiencing," he said. Labour maintained that the government's white paper on the last screening exercise currently being implemented was aimed at achieving massive retrenchment of workers precisely all those in the directorate cadre and civil servants that have five years and below to retire.
  
    He urged workers to remain prayerful and law abiding, adding they must be prepared to "stay at home for eternity if it takes the government eternity to meet all our demands". The unions  called on Muslim civil servants to pray earnestly for protection of labour leaders and the entire state workers in their mosques today while their Christian counterparts were equally enjoined to do same across their churches this Sunday, Sept 24.

     Meanwhile, local government workers and teachers in the state have issued a seven-day strike notice to the government to meet their demands. State President of National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Tade Adeyemi who spoke on behalf of other local government labour unions, said they will join their state counterparts with effect from Sept. 27 if the government fails to meet their demands
 Dailytrust

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