Despite its public pronouncement sacking its entire workforce, the Oyo State government has started sending emissaries to the leaders of the striking members of the state public service to accept the government’s offer.
It was learnt that the government’s representatives contacted the labour leaders through “informal” channel on Thursday to soft pedal on their hard stance and prevail on the workers to accept the government’s offer. In another breath, the labour leaders claimed that a meeting was held somewhere in Ibadan on Thursday where sympathisers of the government allegedly resolved to send thugs to deal with them.
The development came just as about 15, 000 striking workers on Friday converged on the secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Ibadan where they dared Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala to sack them.
Elsewhere, the governor said the workers had the grace of Thursday and Friday (yesterday) to return to work, failure of which anyone still interested in his or her job would have to reapply as from Monday. For the umpteenth time, the governor accused his predecessor, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, of fuelling the labour crises to unsettle his government.
For the abridged four years that Ladoja spent in office, the governor said his former boss had no record of achievement, which he said was responsible for the determination of Ladoja to bring down his government. Alao-Akala said, “Ladoja is witch-hunting me. He wants me to fail because for the four years of his administration there is nothing he could point to as his achievement.
“We have given the workers two days of grace, from yesterday (Thursday) to return to work. As from Monday, any of them still interested in work will fill a form. It’s because they are indolent that they are shunning duty.”
State Chairman of the NLC, Mr. Bashiru Apapa; his counterparts in Joint Negotiation Council, Mr. Nurudeen Arowolo and Trade Union Congress, Mr. Bayo Ajayi, were on hand to boost the morale of the workers at the congress.
Three truck loads of policemen kept vigil at the secretariat to prevent the charged workers from taking the laws into their hands. It, however, took the counsel of the labour leaders to prevent the workers from hitting the streets in a protest march.
The workers who started arriving at the secretariat as early as 7am grew into a huge crowd by 9am and started chanting anti-government slogans. In a very convivial environment, which belied their new status, the workers sang and danced as their leaders addressed them, vowing not to back out.
Rising from an enlarged meeting of the labour leaders, which cut across all the industrial unions, the labour leaders sought the mandate of the tumultuous crowd on whether they should continue with the strike.
A thunderous “yes” greeted the question which was posed by the NLC chairman who spoke on behalf of the other leaders. The chairman of the NLC had earlier briefed the workers on the outcome of the last negotiation they had with the government on Wednesday, which led to the mass sack later the same day.
The workers said that they were undaunted by the report of their sack, which they said had strengthened their resolve to trudge on even without salaries.
In an interview with newsmen, Apapa said the workers would not fill any form before or on Monday as directed by the government, as they deemed the position of the government as “unserious.”
Having being employed through an instrument, he said the workers believed that their purported sack was a mere ruse since it had not followed the laid down procedure. Confirming the alleged threats of attack by thugs, Apapa said he had already conferred with government officials and they have been told that there was no such plan.
He said, “But in order not to take chances, we have told the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Saka Balogun, and we said the government will be held responsible if anything happens to any of us. It’s one of their gimmicks to say that jobless people had started collecting their employment forms. You can’t sack workers in such a crooked manner on the pages of newspaper. There must be letters of disengagement.
“We can only advise such people not to part with their hard-earned N1000, because it might be another means to rake in money for the government. There is no vacancy in the public service for now.
Already, he said, the labour leaders had sent detailed copies of the government sources of income to the Olubadan, Oba Samuel Odulana; Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi and other stakeholders who had earlier waded into the matter. This, he said was to show to the stakeholders that they were fighting a just cause.
By Akin Oyedele, Ibadan
The Punch
Saturday, September 22, 2007
