Resign Now or Pay Oyo Workers within Five Days, TUC Tells Ajimobi

  • UI shut down over six months irregular salaries

Ademola Babalola in Ibadan

Exactly one week after workers with the Oyo State Government resumed work after seven weeks strike, their leadership monday called to press home their demand for the payment of arrears of salaries.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has issued a five-day ultimatum to the state Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, to offset the arrears or resign as the state governor.

The threat by the TUC to close down Agodi government secretariat by next Monday should the governor fail to meet their demand also coincided with mondays shut down of the activities at the University of Ibadan by angry workers over shortfalls in the allocation being received by the university from the federal government since December 2015 which they said have adversely affected their salaries.

The TUC in a statement made available to journalists and signed by its Chairman, Emelieze Andrew, and spokesperson, Ilesanmi Lawrence, said: “That an extra five-day ultimatum be given to the state government to pay all outstanding arrears with interest.”

The union, while urging the people of the state to prepare for mass action to occupy the state secretariat next Monday should the government refuse to meet their demands, declared that the governor should resign if he cannot pay workers’ salaries.

“The governor should resign if he cannot pay workers’ salaries. The people should start preparing for a mass action to occupy the state secretariat on August 8, should the state government refuse to meet our demands.”

The TUC also berated its sister union, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for what it described as unholy alliance by signing a ‘satanic’ agreement that was inimical to industrial harmony in the state

In a related development, academic and administrative activities were disrupted at the University of Ibadan as the non-academic staff union continued their warning strike to demand full payment of their salaries and arrears from January 2016 to date.

Staff of the university had since January 2016 been receiving incomplete salaries due to shortfall of allocation from the federal government to the institution.

The unions had ordered their members to go home last week Friday after holding a joint congress at the university entrance gate forcing people to trek distances to their destinations.

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