*says five months remain unpaid
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights (CDWR), Oyo State Chapter on Tuesday lashed out at the state chapter of Public Service Joint Negotiation Council, (PSJNC) for commending Governor Abiola Ajimobi over payment of “two months while minimum of five months continue to be unpaid”.
CDWR in a statement by its Oyo State Coordinator, Comrade Abiodun Bamigboye made available to newsmen in Ibadan described the PSJNC commendation as “an act of gross misrepresentation and undemocratic”
According to the group,it was wrong “for the state Leadership of PSJNC to go ahead and express any form of gratitude or commendation to the state Governor over the payment of two months while minimum of five months continue to be unpaid without holding a congress of workers in the state or take any practical effort to facilitate one as a fundamental step before arriving at such a decision.
“The Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights (CDWR), Oyo State Chapter seriously frowns at the recent commendation of Abiola Ajimobi-led government over what was called “continuous” payment salaries and pensions by the leadership of the Oyo State Chapter of Public Service Joint Negotiation Council, PSJNC through a letter reportedly signed by Comrade Emmanuel Ogundiran and Comrade Dupe Adewoye who are the Chairman and Secretary of the council in the state respectively,”it said .
According to CDWR, “it is an act of a gross misrepresentation and undemocratic for the state Leadership of PSJNC to go ahead and express any form of gratitude or commendation to the state Governor over the payment of two months while minimum of five months continue to be unpaid without holding a congress of workers in the state or take any practical effort to facilitate one as a fundamental step before arriving at such a decision”.
CDWR maintained that “the payment of two months salaries at once should rather be a basis for the leadership of PSJNC to dispel the government propaganda that its monthly allocation receive from the Federal government is not enough to pay the monthly wage bill of workers and pensioners in the state”.
“The CDWR believes that there is no basis for the state leadership of PSJNC to be commending the state government for the payment of workers and retirees salaries and pension. This is because prompt payment of salary and pension of workers and retirees is one of the basic constitutional obligations of every reasonable government.
This means that Senator Ajimobi-led government doesn’t need to be commended even if it promptly pays as at when due the salaries and pensions of workers and retirees in the state let alone in a shameful situation where the government still continues to owe workers and retirees in the state a backlog of salaries and pension arrears that ranges from 5months to 10months for different categories of workers and retirees in the state”.
The group pointed out that it “has always maintained that the Oyo State government has the capacity to pay workers in the state and still implement projects capable of bringing meaningful improvement in the condition of living of the people of the state despite the decline in the federal allocation. This will however mean that the leadership of PSJNC must shun their collaborationist politic of showing unnecessary understanding with the state government and be willing and ready to unite with the state leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress and newly launched United Labour Congress, ULC in a joint struggle for the payment of all outstanding salary and pension arrears”.
The group added that there was the need for a united struggle for the payment of salary and that“ pension must also be linked with demands that the security votes must be scraped; political office holders must be placed on the salary and allowance of the civil servants; all corrupt practices; wastages and inflation of contracts must be stopped”.
