Workers block Mimiko, reject gov’s plea to end strike

Striking civil servants in Ondo State on
Thursday blocked the
main gate to Government House in
Akure, preventing Governor
Olusegun Mimiko from entering.
The workers commenced the industrial
action last week
Wednesday to protest the non-payment
of their five-month
salaries.
The governor, who was forced to come
down from his vehicle
to address the protesters, pleaded with
them to suspend the
strike, saying the state did not have
enough money to pay the
accumulated salary arrears.
The protesting workers, led by the
State Joint Negotiation
Council chairman, Sunday Adeleye;
the state Chairman of the
Nigeria Labour Congress, Bosede
Daramola; and her Trade
Union Congress counterpart, Soladoye
Ekundayo, rejected the
governor’s plea.
Mimiko said the government was
ready to pay health and local
government workers and teachers, to
enable it to inject some
money into the state economy, adding
that when health workers
resumed work, they would be able to
meet the medical
challenges of the people.
The governor noted that his
administration was considerate and
not insensitive to the plight of the
workers.
Mimiko appealed to them to call off
the one-week old strike and
considered his commitment not to
retrench any worker in spite
of the dwindling resources.
While saying the continuation of the
strike would only retard the
economic growth of the state, the
governor charged the people
of the state “to see the present
situation in the country as a
collective challenge that we must face
and proffer solutions to.”
He added, “We are in a very difficult
time in Nigeria and I have
absolutely nothing against your
protest. I can’t imagine
somebody working diligently or not
too diligently but worked
for five months without pay, especially
in an economy that
depends mainly on salary.
“Your protest has been peaceful and
that is what democracy is
all about. People must be able to
ventilate their feelings just like
you are ventilating yours. But it is
important for us to know the
truth because it is the truth that can
set us free.”
But the governor effort to convince the
workers fell into deaf
ears as some of them continued to
shout “no salary, no work”,
intermittently.
Responding to the governor’s address,
the state chairman of
JNC, Adeleye, declared that if the
workers had no signal that the
state government was ready to pay
their salary arrears, the
indefinite strike would continue.
Apart from the Government House, the
workers also stormed
major roads in Akure, the state capital,
to continue the protest.
During the protest that lasted for over
four hours, the workers
carried placards with different
inscriptions such as ‘Mimiko, pay
our salary’, ‘We can’t feed our
families’, ‘Workers are dying of
hunger’, and ‘Ise pupo, iya
repete’ (much work, endless
suffering).
It was learnt that the Ondo State
Council of Obas, led by the
Osemawe of Ondo, Oba Victor
Kiladejo, had intervened in the
industrial dispute as the traditional
rulers were meeting with the
leadership of the workers’ unions as of
the time of filing this
report.
Government offices, schools and
hospitals were still under lock
and key on Thursday as a result of the
strike while the leadership
of the labour unions in the state were
moving from one office to
the other to monitor the compliance
with the stay-at-home
order.
Meanwhile, following the failure of the
workers to suspend the
strike, the state governor and some
members of the state
executive council moved to the streets
of Akure on Thursday to
evacuate refuse by the roadside.
The governor said his action was to
prevent an outbreak of
disease in the town.