By Ola Ajayi

IBADAN – FRESH industrial crisis is brewing in Oyo State as a splinter group within the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, over the N18,000 minimum wage, has announced commencement of indefinite strike today.

The  splinter group also claimed it has sacked the leadership of NLC and TUC over perceived shoddy manner that the leadership of NLC and TUC handled the  negotiation of the payment of the minimum wage with the government.

But, reacting to the directive of the splinter group, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Akin Olajide said the group was unknown to Law and government.

He said, in a terse statement that as a government that abides by the rule of law, the State government wishes to state that such a call is illegal and irresponsible.

“Government calls on all workers in the employment of the state to be law-abiding by reporting for work tomorrow,(today) Monday, March 19, 2012”, he said.

The government threatened that any worker that abstains from work on the order of the unknown group does so at the risk of his/her career.

Also, the State Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Bashir Olanrewaju who was among those allegedly sacked described the crisis within the union as an internal issue that would soon be resolved.

The workers had stated in a communiqué signed by their leader, Mr. Bayo Akande that from today (Monday), they would abandon their duty posts and resume at the NLC Secretariat until the government honours the N18,000 minimum wage agreement with an acceptable table.

According to the workers who started calling the governor unprintable names over his alleged failure to fulfill his electioneering promise of making workers in the state one of the best paid in the South West.

Addressing hundreds of workers that stormed their secretariat at Agodi Gate, Ibadan, at the weekend, leaders of the Caretaker Committee who were chosen to replace the alleged sacked leaders, complained that the table released by Ajimobi’s administration did not take care of workers above level 05 whose increase he described as insulting.

They alleged that what Governor Ajimobi is currently doing with the workers in the state negated his beautiful promises he made before the election.

He told newsmen that the table prepared by the government only takes care of workers on Grade Level 01-04, while others only have ridiculous amount as monthly increase.

Explaining the reason for sacking their leaders in both NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC), he said they were wrong for allegedly compromising the workers welfare by their unilateral decision to agree with government in short-changing them.