Some Civil Servants in Cross River state have defiled the
Sit-at-home Order given by the leadership of the organised labour as the tussle
between the State Government and the Organised Labour continues.
This came on Wednesday as the State governor, Prof. Ben
Ayade was said to have directed the State Commissioner of Finance to begin
payment of June salaries to only those workers who resume work on Wednesday
June 28.
DAILY POST reported that some civil servants in the MDA’s
were seen mounting their various duty posts on Wednesday, MDA’s are listed to
include:
Cross
River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), Cross River Signage and
Advertisements Agency (CRISAA), Cross River State College of Health Technology
(COTECH) and Governor’s.
Others are, Cross River Tax Regulatory Agency (CTRA),
Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH), Cross River State Institute of
Technology and Management (ITM), Ministry of New Cities Development, Cross
River Tourism Bureau and the office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on
NGOs and Community based Organisations.
Meanwhile, some MDAs are still standing in firm solidarity with the circular signed by the Action Committee of
the Organised Labour thus they did not resume work.
These MDAs include, Ministry of Information, Ministry of
Works, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of
Sustainable Development and Social Welfare.
Others are Ministry of Finance,
Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Due Process and Price Intelligence Bureau,
Nigerian Chronicle, Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency
(CRSPHCDA), Cross River Broadcasting Corporation (CRBC), All the MDAs in
Michael Ani’s (Old) Secretariat, All MDAs in New State Secretariat.
Also not working are Cross River State
Water Board Limited (CRSWBL), Cross River State Development and Management
Institute, High Court, and Centre for Tropical Diseases. Irrespective of
Ministry of Environment closing their office entrance, workers were seen
felling trees at No. 1 Barracks Road by 11-11 Roundabout to keep the
environment clean.
DAILY POST gathered some members of the
Organised Labour are said to have been compromised as stated by the Bulletin
4/2017, which is reproduced thus: “It has become necessary to inform you that
after successful agreement between Govt/Organised Labour that led to the
shelving of the planned strike on 30th May, 2017, some officials of Govt has
constituted themselves as a Cork in the wheel of that progress.”
One question that is left to be answered is what happens
to the salaries of all those civil servants who refuse to resume work on Wednesday
and ordered by the governor? Will their salaries be paid to them whenever they
resume work?
Recall that the State Labour Leader Comrade John Ushie
had in a live radio Programme last Saturday boasted that the Labour law does
not permit forfeiture of any worker salary who have worked for at least about
15 days in a particular month, stating that the no work no pay threat of the
Governor does not hold water since the labour strike started after 15th
June.
In a related development, the NLC State
Chairman, Comr. John Ushie while
addressing news men and some members of Nigerian
Labour Congress at the State Secretariat said that the strike will continue
until the governor is ready to meet up with their demands.
Adding that there is money in Cross River State, that the governor should release the bailout funds of 7.8billion and the Paris Club Refunds of 23.3billion Naira that was meant for salaries, pensioners and gratuities, and he should stop forcing workers to work.
He further added that the governor should tell them the truth about the Paris Club Refunds and stop intimidating the workers.
Ushie maintained that NLC members will no longer support the government that is not ready to work with them, adding that all Comrades should continue to stay at home until the governor realises himself.
Ukorebi Esien
Blogs and Edits for TDN
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