Despite all entreaties made by the national bodies of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiating Council (NJC) on possible call-back of some workers’ leaders earlier sacked by the Ogun State government over alleged misconduct, Governor Ibikunle Amosun said the erring workers remained sacked.
Although, the labour unions, who were led by Ayuba Waba, NLC president, to Ogun State on Wednesday to broker truce on the face-off between workers and the state government, which had accounted for two-week strike in the state, succeeded in resolving the industrial action, yet they were unable to resolve the burning issue of those sacked and suspended.
It would be recalled that head of service, Sola Adeyemi, had on Monday signed a document after a recommendation from panel of enquiry, directing dismissal of Akeem Ambali, state NLC chairman; Dare Ilekoya, state NUT chairman, and 14 others, and suspension of 19 NUT chairmen at the local council level for alleged misconduct and partisanship at the celebration of 2016 World Teachers Day.
At a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between labour leaders and the state government in the presence of Governor Amosun and Ayuba Waba, at the state secretariat, the state government agreed to suspend continued deductions from workers’ salaries and repay backlogs of deducted salaries every three months.
The MoU signed partly read, “A tripartite meeting held among the state government officials, the representatives of the state labour and national leadership of organised labour. After much deliberation, the meeting agreed as follow:
“That the State government should pay global deductions with November 2016 salary and release global deductions every ninety days and as soon as bullet payment is received from the Federal Government and State revenue improves, outstanding deduction shall be paid on before May, 2017.
“Immediate offset of one year arrears of check-off dues. Outstanding gratuities to be offset with N200 million every other month effective from November 2016. A Joint Committee for both Government and Labour should be set up to look at issues of the Contributory Pension Scheme and submit the report to the government within 90 days.
“The 2015 promotion result to be released immediately. A Joint Committee on both Government and Labour should be set up to look into the issues of the officers that have completed loan payments and whose money are still being deducted. Also, officers that have completed loan repayment should be allowed to exit from the co-operative societies.
“Towards promoting industrial harmony, there should be instituted a quarterly meeting between the Government and Labour. Consequently upon the above, the two sides agreed that the ongoing strike action should be suspended and no worker will be victimised on account of the strike action.”
While speaking after the signing of MoU, Governor Amosun begged the people of Ogun state and Nigeria at large for the show of shame being displayed as a result of the strike action in the last two weeks, as he said, “I have learnt my lessons”, but added that he was still infuriated with partisanship of sacked and suspended workers, saying the workers should steer clear of politics.
