Labour leaders in Oyo State have decried the hardships being experienced by workers in the state due to unpaid salaries and called on Governor Abiola Ajimobi to alleviate their suffering.
They made the remark during the 2016 Workers’ Day celebration held at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex on Sunday in Ibadan.
Dr Demola Aremu, the National Treasurer, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), said it was sad that the governor was allowing the workforce to languish in abject poverty despite the nation’s huge resources.
Aremu said that the 2016 workers’ day in many states could best be described as a mourning day, adding that workers were being owed salaries for several months.
“Workers are now being called by government in many states to negotiate their salaries, forgetting the condition of employment,’’ he said.
Aremu urged the workers not to agonise but organise themselves into formidable unions to push for their demands and to ensure the protection of their welfare.
Mr Olu Abiala, a former Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Oyo State chapter, said the celebration was supposed to be a day of dialogue between workers and the government.
Ajimobi, represented at the event by Mr Soji Eniade, the State Head of Service, urged the labour leaders to “always embrace dialogue rather than fuelling the embers of discord’’.
Ajimobi said that industrial crises in any state would bring no benefit but disruption to development.
He also urged the workers to be diligent and to cultivate sound ethical standards in the discharge of their duties.
He frowned at the alarming rate of sharp practices by the workers in the areas of revenue generation, saying such would no longer be condoned.
“No sane government will be happy while its workforce suffers; we have been doing everything humanly possible to make our workers comfortable.
“I hope you all recall that when the state had buoyant finances, we paid salaries promptly and even paid 13th month salaries for three years.
“The economy has nose-dived and the situation is no longer as it used to be.
“We have identified areas of revenue generation and will ensure that such are judiciously harnessed for meaningful development,’’ the governor said.
The celebration featured the usual march past but several union members did not show up for the event.
