In order to push home frustrations over alleged nonpayment of salaries, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has announced that it will launch industrial action and public protests in Owerri, the capital of Imo state, on November 1st, 2023.
It has started mass member mobilisation throughout affiliated unions in order to achieve this goal.
NLC President Joe Ajaero made this statement on Sunday at a news conference in Abuja. He said that labour is extremely worried about the Imo State Government’s flagrant and ongoing breaches of the rights and privileges of workers in the state.
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He bemoaned the fact that the Imo State Government has turned into a habitual and serial violator of these accords, despite several attempts to have constructive conversations and come to amicable arrangements.
Ajaero claims that because the state government persisted in violating workers’ rights, the union was forced to take industrial action and stage large-scale rallies in order to express their displeasure at the state’s ongoing violations of workers’ rights and privileges.
“It (state government)has allowed itself to be misled in its belief that the continued use of threats and intimidations would perpetually dissuade Nigerian workers from taking their destinies in their own hands.
” It is on this note that we want o warn the government of Imo state that we would hold the Governor accountable if anything happens to any worker or trade union leader in the course of this lawful protests.
“All the threats we have received of violence against our persons are noted but we will not be deterred. On the 1 day of November, we begin this march to save workers of Imo state from the grievous harm the government has subjected them to these past years,” Ajaero warned.
A few of the alleged transgressions by the Imo State Government were listed by the NLC leadership, including their failure to carry out prior agreements.
He charged that the government had consistently broken agreements, most notably the one that the government and organised labour had reached on January 9, 2021.
Ajaero claimed that some employees had been subjected to an astounding 20 months of unpaid salaries under the moniker of “ghost workers,” citing a backlog of unpaid salary arrears.
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The NLC bemoaned the state of affairs, stating that almost 11,000 diligent people had their salaries wrongfully withheld and they had been unfairly labelled as ghost workers despite the fact that they were doing their jobs.
Additionally, he charged that the state government had vandalised the NLC State Secretariat, calling it a flagrant violation of the rights of workers and a violation of the sanctity of their representative.
“The Government’s witch-hunt against trade union leaders through various guises constitutes an alarming assault on the right to represent and advocate for the rights of workers.
“The continued deployment of thugs and violence against workers and their leaders is an unacceptable practice that undermines the democratic rights of workers. The impoundment and illegal diversion of union dues, funds rightfully belonging to the unions, is a gross violation of the rights of workers to manage their collective resources.
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“Approximately 10,000 pensioners have been wrongly labeled as ghost resulting in over 22 months of unpaid pensions, tragically leading to the loss of lives.The entire workforce is constantly subjected to threats of violence and sack, creating an environment of fear and uncertainty,” Ajaero stated.
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