Unpaid Allowances: Ondo Workers Issue Eight-Day Ultimatum

Ondo State Chapter of Organised Labour Unions on Thursday says the state government was yet to fulfil various previous agreements reached with them over their demands on salaries and deductions payment.

PUNCH has it that the letter was addressed to the state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and was signed by the state Chairmen and Secretaries of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and the Joint Negotiating Council, Sunday Adeleye-Oluwole, Helen Odofin, Niyi Fabunmi, Omokehinde Shado, Tajudeen Balogun and Kehinde Olomiye, respectively.

The unions lamented that the government was yet to meet with them on the matter that concerned their welfare in the time, demanding that the governor meets with them and proffer a way out of the problem.

According to them, the current situation in the state required “re-thinking, re-jigging and re-working the current mode of salary payment to a model that will satiate all interests.”

They demanded that, “The government should come up with an agreeable template with labour on the payment of monthly salary. And the said template must take care of the settlement of salaries arrears (deductions) from May 2020 – September, 2020, pension arrears, outstanding subvention to state-owned tertiary institutions.

“The gross salary must take effect as we say no to the current mode of payment of salary i.e. net payment and that the model adopted by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in salaries payment whenever there is shortfall in federal allocation to Local Government and SUBEB be adopted by the state government since borrowing to augment salaries has become an uphill task.

“The constant information flow between labour and government should be maintained as this will further strengthen and cement the relationship.”

The unions, in the letter, gave government up till Friday, November 27, 2020, to convene a meeting, where all their demands would be looked into, adding that failure might lead to industrial unrest in the state.