By Austin Ogwuda

ASABA  – WORKERS in Delta State under the aegis of Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, yesterday, declared that there was no going back on the indefinite strike action slated to commence this Friday,  to press home their  demand for the implementation of the New Harmonized Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure, which the state government had allegedly turned deaf ears to.

Rising from an emergency meeting in, Asaba, yesterday, to review an earlier ultimatum issued  the state government on the strike, the union’s leadership said, “we have been taken for granted and our members are already accusing us of selling out.”

State Organising Secretary of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, Mr Uche Monyei and 12 others, in a statement, after the meeting said  “this is to inform all workers in the public service of Delta State,  that following the inability of the Delta State government to fulfill the demands contained in the letter No. PSJNC/DTC/18 dated February 18, 2011 which was  addressed to  the Governor by the Public Service Joint Negotiating Council, JNC, the Joint Action Committee, JAC, of the trade unions in the public service of Delta State said, “we wish to direct all workers to proceed on an indefinite strike action with effect from Friday March 4, 2011.

“The demand of workers are well articulated in the aforementioned letter. The strike action is therefore to be sustained until all of them (demands) are met. “While the strike is in progress, JAC/JNC will remain open to dialogue on the workers’ demands and the way forward,” the statement added.

The state government is, however,  insisting that the workers  did not exhaust the option of negation.