By Kolade Larewaju
The Joint Public Service Negotiation Council says the peaceful conduct of the Ogun State workers is being mis-interpreted as a weakness in comparison with their neighbours in the South West which went on strike several times for non-payment of allowances.

The JNC dragged the State Government to Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity for non remittance of about N3.8 billion pension funds deducted from salaries of workers to pension fund administrators, delay in remitting deductions from salaries of workers to different unions and cooperative societies including Ileya and Christmas funds.

On the deductions from the salaries of workers which were not remitted, government had confirmed that the deductions were only made on paper and not backed with cash and that it would be paid when the financial situation improved.

CIVIL servants in out Ogun State will, today, begin a three-day warning strike aimed at forcing the State Government to remit about N3.8 billion pension fund deducted from their salaries to the Pension Fund Administrators and other issues.

The Joint Public Service Negotiation Council in a bulletin issued Monday evening directed the workers to stay at home till Friday as a warning to the government to remit the funds or face full blown strike.

Abeokuta

The JNC in the bulletin accused the state government of not implementing the agreement it reached with the unions earlier in the year and regretted its cooperation with government so far.

The Unions said: “The peaceful conduct of the Ogun State workers is being mis_interpreted as a weakness in comparison with our neighbours in the South West which went on strike several times on non-payment of allowances.

Earlier agreement

“The JNC dragged the State Government to Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity on August 16, 2010 for non-implementation of an earlier agreement signed on April 16, 2010 on non remittance of pension funds deducted from salaries of workers to pension fund administrators to the tune of about N3.8 billion; delay in remitting deductions from salaries of workers to different unions and cooperative societies including Ileya and Christmas funds.”

Other points of disagreement, according to the council, are: Non_payment of gratuity to senior citizens,  retired civil servants in the state since September 2008 to date; non_payment of leave bonus (to core civil servants) from August 2009 to date while public servants (in secondary schools) have not received their leave bonus from January, 2009 to date. Non_release of running cost to Ministries and Parastatals since January, 2010 which has never happened in the history of Ogun State.

The workers have been complaining for months about un-remitted deductions in salaries into the contributory pension scheme through the Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, who had raised alarm that the state was in default to the tune of over N3 billion.

But most worrisome to the workers,  actually is the issue of non remittance of deductions for cooperative societies and target savings.

As a result of the non remittance, the workers have not been able to access loans from their cooperative neither have they been able to get their savings especially those made towards festivals. Muslims in the civil service who started saving from their salaries for the Ileya festival were shocked when they could not get money from their target savings to buy their usual rams.

The practice is for deductions to be made from workers salary every month and by the following year, the  savings would have been enough to buy the usual ram and clothes for the family. This year, it failed and many bit their fingers and gnashed their teeth.

Most worrisome to them, however, is the forthcoming Christmas celebrations and if action is not taken quickly, none of them would be able to access funds from their cooperatives and target savings for the celebrations despite deductions from their salaries.

Also making the civil servants bitter is the non release of running cost to the Ministries and Parastatals. This has made it impossible for them to work smoothly. Chalks and other consumables had to be provided by the teachers and the pupils since impartation of knowledge must continue.

The non release of the running cost was one of the issues that culminated in the crisis of the House of Assembly which is now under lock and key.

The Speaker, Mr. Tunji Egbetokun had raised an alarm that the House could not sit as and when due He said the House “can not even buy diesel to power its generator relying on good will of some people to give them diesel on credit.”

Moreover, the Speaker said that there were no photocopying machines and papers in the House and  that without the running cost there was very little work the House could do.

It was on this note that the House adjourned before the September sitting of the Group of Nine legislators who sat in the early hours and purportedly removed the Speaker, his Deputy, Mr. Remmy Hazzan and appointed Mr. Emmanuel Soyemi Coker as Speaker and Edward Ayo Odugbesan as Deputy.

Other decisions taken included the suspension of the 15 legislators loyal to Egbetokun, the approval of a supplementary budget and the approval of the N100 billion bond.

Since the development, the House has not been able to sit as there are now two Speakers, two Deputies while 15 legislators have been said to be suspended leaving only 11 in the 26 member House.

But Government had always insisted that it was not as if it was not willing to pay but that there were financial problems owing to the economic melt down.

As at then while Ministries had not been paid running cost this year, government said that it had bent over  backwards to make the payment for the House up to July.

Financial assistance
Government also said that the House Resolution forbidding all financial institutions to grant it any financial assistance was part of the problem as well as the non approval of the Bond.

Government had explained that because of its lean resources due to the meltdown, it would have to source for cheap funds on the capital market to cushion the effect of the cash strap until things improved.

On the deductions from the salaries of workers which were not remitted, government had confirmed that the deductions were only made on paper and not backed with cash and that it would be paid when the financial situation improved.

It was in this light that the labour union dragged the State government to the Federal Ministry of Productivity where negotiations finally broke down on November 9, 2010.

Following the breakdown of negotiation, the bulletin directing workers to stay at home was issued. It stated: “In view of the absolute intransigence of the State Government by not reconsidering its refusal to pay all the above indebtedness despite Labour’s persistent appeal, a three-day warning strike with effect from Wednesday, November 24 to Friday, November 26, 2010 is hereby declared.

“Workers should, therefore, stay at home for the three-day warning strike as all avenues to ensure the payments have failed. Workers should discountenance the government appeals, threat and coercive tendencies and await further directives from labour”

Vanguard, however, gathered that efforts were on by the State Government to resolve the issues so that the workers would not go on strike at all and that in the event that the labour leaders called out the workers, the issues would be quickly resolved so that they can go back to work.