Leaders of Labour unions in Kogi
State have condemned claim by Kogi State government that signatories to the
strike notice are unknown labour leaders.
In a chat with newsmen in Lokoja,
Kogi State Secretary of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Kolawole James said
labour leaders were shocked by the claim made by the Director General on Media
and Publicity to the Governor, Kingsley Fanwo.
Fanwo, had in his response to the
strike notice, alleged that none of the signatories to the letter was a civil
servant.
He added that the signatories
were not the union leaders the state government had been relating with.
However, the TUC scribe debunked
the allegations as being far from the truth.
James noted that the signatories
are well known to labour leaders who had at one time or the other related with
the state government.
“As the Secretary of TUC, I have
had cause to exchange correspondence with the state government on several
occasions. I was part of the first staff screening committee headed by Paul
Okuntimo. I also served, as representative of Labour, in the final screening
committee. To say I and other signatories are unknown labour leaders is not
true.
“Secretaries of labour unions are
not civil servants, they are employees of the Union seconded to different state
to manage their respective secretariats. It is the duty of Union secretaries to
sign correspondence from the secretariat.
“The government should rather
focus on the demands contained in the strike notice and find ways to meet the
demands to avert industrial action. As we speak, the state government has not
reached out to Labour to discuss how they will meet our demands. However, we
met with the committee constituted by the State House of Assembly on Thursday
and we tabled our demands before it.
“We stand by our demands that
workers’ July and August salaries must be paid. This is basic. Some workers in
the state are owed 19 months salary as at today. Just yesterday, we were
informed that the Principal of Community Secondary School, Ayere, Mr. Musari
Rahman, who has not been paid salary in the last 19 months has passed away.
This is just one of the many unfortunate reports we get from workers across the
state.
“We also demand that government
rescind its decision on clocking in and out policy in the public service of
Kogi state, which aims at casualising the service on daily pay basis. This
negates the provisions of National Councils on Establishment’s principles and
practices guiding the civil service in the country,” he said.
He further assured civil servants
in the state of Labour leaders’ commitment to their welfare.
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