People’s Democratic Party National Youth League (PDPNYL), Osun State Branch through their State Coordinator Ogunsola Oluwasogo and the State Publicity Secretary Shakirat Temitope supports the workers’ strike in Osun State. They implore all the Labour Union Executives in Osun State should call a Congress now, on the following agenda :
The half salaries being paid by the Aregbesola’s government, and the way on how to collect the balance. The government of Aregbesola, should stop being selfish, by paying the workers their entitlement (full salaries) and retirees their pensions and gratuities. And also promotion of workers at the due time, because it is their right.
The People’s Democratic Party National Youth League (PDPNYL), Osun State Branch, hereby solitaries with the Labour Union or workers of Osun State. We expresses our support for the strike action declared by the Labour Union under the umbrella of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which commenced on the 27/12/2017. We the people of Osun State PDPNYL, join the Labour Union in the demanding of their legal right, which is the full payment of their monthly salaries, also the payments of pensions of the retirees, and the Osun State government should pay the remaining half salary of the workers. We are bold to say that the strike should have started since, but when they discovered that the government are not listening to their own plight, they are forced to embark on the strike. The reasons are not far fetched, as we can see, we are in the festive period, they celebrate their Christmas in a small way, because their is no money. But they are trying not to allow the same thing to happen in the new year celebration, in the cause of this, we PDPNYL members, pledge our support for the Labour Union in demanding for their rights.
It is very sardonic that the Labour Union executives in Osun State kept mute since all this while. We are sure if the leadership have taken a mass or serious actions, for example, mass protests, rallies or Congress, the workers will not be in this situation, the government of Osun State would have been looking for solutions on how to pay them. Let us take for an example, the person that suppose to be fighting for the right of the Civil Servants, the same person, government are now using him against the workers, the person is, Comrade Oyebade, the head of Civil Service. Rather for him to be leading the workers and retirees in the protest, he allowed himself to be used against his own people in the Civil Service.
The fraudulent act of this man and some of the executive in the labour union allowed or provided the Aregbesola government the opportunity to go away with the looting of the workers legitimate right. At this juncture, I on behalf of the Osun State PDPNYL, will implore the workers that, there should be no compromising between the workers and the Osun State Government led by Ogbeni Adesoji Rauf Aregbesola, until the government meet their demands, and also they should call congresses and stage many protests and rallies.
It is very clear, visible to the blind and audible to the deaf, that the workers have embarked on an indefinite strike, and they should not resume until the government give them their rights. I will call on the labour leaders to call many meetings where the worker will share their own point of view and also take decisions, a democratic one not a one side decision on how to prosecute the strike. The blocking of the state secretariat in Abere, two days ago is not enough, they should go more than that, till the government will meet their demands, because boycotting works or sitting at home, that one is not a strike.
Furthermore, the leaders of the Union, should not fight this battle alone, they should consult the support of other bodies, like ASUU(Universities), NASU, ASUP(Polytechnics), COEASU(colleges of education) and some institutions or associations like NMA and NUJ. And also, by doing this it will help other groups such as Students’ Union, Pro-Labour Civil Society.
The government maybe giving flimsy excuse that there is no money, that is the reason why they are paying half salary, just of recent, the president of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, gave out a directive, that all the governors should pay their workers, still some of them are adamant, example is our own governor in Osun State, and also each state collected a Paris Club Fund apart from the monthly allocations and Internally Generated Revenue, where are these huge amount of money going to?
During this year May Day, i.e Workers’ Day, he console the long suffering workers, that he will pay them their full salaries, until now, he has failed them. The reason why Osun State found itself in the current financial problem is as a result of the immoral character of the government of Aregbesola.
At this point, workers and the people of Osun State must not be blindfolded with the flimsy excuses of the Aregbesola government. The present economic crisis and financial problem the State is into now, is caused by the government’s inveterate kleptomaniac character.
We members of People’s Democratic Party National Youth League (PDPNYL), Osun State Chapter calls on workers not to fix any rotten compromises with the regime.