The
Nigeria Labour Congress has vowed to resist the dismissal of the Ogun state
Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Akeem Ambali, and his Vice-Chairman,
Dare Ilekoya, who is also the state Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers,
by the State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.
The
Ogun State Government also dismissed 14 workers and suspended 18 others, who
are mostly teachers, for alleged misconduct during the 2016 World Teachers’ Day
celebration on October 5, 2016, in Abeokuta.
The
General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said on the telephone on
Tuesday that the decision of the state governor was an illegality, which the
labour movement would resist.
Ozo-Eson
said a combined team of labour leaders from the NLC and the Trade Union
Congress had been dispatched to Abeokuta to intervene in the matter.
The
NLC’s scribe, who called on the governor to reverse the decision to dismiss
workers, stressed the action could result in industrial crisis in the state.
He
said, “Well, clearly, the purported sacking is rejected by us in the congress.
There are issues that have been outstanding between organised labour in the
state and the government and instead of the government to deal with the issues,
it is going on high-handed decision to sack people; that can’t be.
“Today,
our team is already in the state to talk with them. But clearly, the purported
sacking is unacceptable and it is irregular, and we will resist it.
“The
NLC and the TUC’s combined team has already been dispatched to the state to
intervene in the matter.”
When
asked what the organised labour would do if the governor refused to recall the
sacked workers, he said, “It means he has declared an industrial war and we
will have no choice but to also ensure that industrial peace does not return to
the state because such a sacking is illegal and we cannot allow it to happen.”
Also,
the embattled state chairman of the NLC, Ambali, said the National President of
the NLC, Mr. Ayuba Wabba; his TUC counterpart, Boboi Kaigama, and the leaders
of the National Joint Negotiating Council would attend a rally by labour in
Abeokuta on Wednesday (today).
The
rally, he said, would hold at the state secretariat of the NLC on Abiola Way in
the capital city.
Speaking
with one of our correspondents on the telephone on Tuesday, the labour leader
stated that Wabba, Kaigama and the national president of the NJNC among others,
would be in the state to address the workers.
The
state chairman, TUC, Olubunmi Fajobi, also confirmed that apart from the
national presidents of the NLC, TUC and JNC, the national presidents of NULGE
and the NUT would also be at the rally.
Organised
labour, made up of the state chapters of the NLC, TUC and the JNC, had ordered
workers in the state to proceed on an indefinite strike demanding payment of 12
months unions’ check-off dues; 12 months of deductions of bank loans repayment,
cooperative savings and Ileya/festival savings.
Other
demands of the workers are the remittance of the workers’ contributory pension
deductions; gradual payment of retirees’ gratuities and the payment of 16
months salaries of workers of the Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu-Ijebu.
Ambali
ruled out the issue of police permit, alleging that over 50 armed policemen had
laid siege to the NLC secretariat since the commencement of the strike on
Thursday, October 20, 2016.
But
the Ogun State Police Command said on Tuesday that the NLC must get a police
permit before embarking on the rally on Wednesday (today).
The
state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said this in a
telephone interview with one of our correspondents.
He
said this became necessary so as to allow the police to give them security
cover in order to prevent hoodlums from hijacking the rally.
Meanwhil,Gov
Amosun said no worker was sacked over the two-week-old strike in the state.
He
said this was contrary to insinuations in some quarters that the governor
ordered the dismissal of some civil servants due to the ongoing strike.
This
was contained in a statement by the Senior Special Adviser on Media to the
governor, Adejuwon Soyinka, on Tuesday.
He
said the affected civil servants were alleged to have been involved in certain
acts of misconduct in the course of the 2016 World Teachers’ Day celebration on
October 5, 2016, which was before the ongoing strike.
The
statement read in part, “Contrary to such claims, what truly transpired is that
the Ogun State Civil Service Commission, in furtherance of its statutory
responsibility of maintaining discipline and adherence to public service rules
and extant regulations, on Monday, took the decision to sanction some civil
servants.
“The
affected civil servants were alleged to have been involved in certain acts of
misconduct in the course of the 2016 World Teachers’ Day celebration on October
5, 2016, way before the ongoing strike action commenced.
“In
a statement on Monday by the Ogun State Head of Service, Sola Adeyemi, the
State Civil Service Commission explained that it received complaints from
concerned members of the public against some public and civil servants
allegedly involved in various acts of misconduct in the course of the 2016
World Teachers’ Day celebration.
“The
allegations against the affected civil and public servants include the fact
that contrary to extant public service rules, they got involved in partisan
politics by publicly admitting receiving money from a politician and also
hiring a musician with whom they sang praises of the said politician while
chanting political slogans in the course of the World Teachers’ Day
celebration.
“To
determine the veracity of such complaints and give the affected civil and
public servants the opportunity for fair hearing, the Civil Service Commission
said it set up an administrative panel of inquiry on October 17, 2016.
“Before
arriving at its decisions, the panel issued queries and invited the affected
civil servants, who in turn, made written and oral representations.
“After
listening to all the parties involved including witnesses as well as reviewing
the evidences at its disposal, the panel, in its wisdom, recommended the
dismissal of 16 public and civil servants.
“Those
recommended for dismissal include the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour
Congress, Akeem Ambali, and the state chairman of the Nigeria Union of
Teachers, Dare Ilekoya. They were all found to have contravened the Public
Service Rules 04401, 04402 (c&d) and 04406 (a) due to their involvement in
the political rally they held under the guise of World Teachers’ Day
celebration event.
“The
panel also recommended the suspension of 19 others while exonerating one Mr.
Abiodun Oriyomi Samuel who was said not to have been involved in the alleged
partisan act.
From
the foregoing, it is clear that the State Civil Service Commission only acted
in fulfilment of its statutory responsibility and this has nothing to do with
Governor Amosun or the ongoing strike action embarked upon by a section of the
workforce in the state.”
Also,
the Secretary to the State Government in Ogun State, Taiwo Adeoluwa, said on
Tuesday that the sacked civil servants could appeal to the state’s Head of
Service on their sackings.
“As
for your question whether government will rescind its decision on the sackings
and suspension, only the Head of Service can answer that question. If they
appeal; I don’t know if they have appealed,” he said.
Source:The
Punch
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Society