Members of the organised labour in Edo State, Monday called on the
state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, to redeem the myriads of unfulfilled
promises made by his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole.
The State
Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Emmanuel
Ademokun, made the call as they joined their counterparts in the world
to observe the 2017 International Workers’ Day.
International
Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries, is a
celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the
international labour movement, socialists and communists.
Speaking
at the event which held at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium in Benin,
Ademokun listed the many unfulfilled promises of Mr Oshiomhole to the
Workers’ unions in the state to include the non-payment of the N25,000
minimum wage to primary school teachers in the state granted last year.
He
also listed the building of befitting labour houses to the Unions
promised by the former Governor since 2008 among the unfulfilled
promises.
He said; “Since 2008, organised labour in the state got
promises of befitting Labour Houses from the state government. Till
date, none was built or allocated to the NLC and TUC, Edo State Council.
“Our
concern at the moment is to inform you that Edo State is the source of
labour activism in Nigeria right from the time of Late Pa Michael
Imoudu, up to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Comrade Peter Esele.
“It is a thing of shame that the state that produced these labour icons and generals does not have a Labour House.
“We
hereby urge your government to please fulfil the promises of your
predecessor in office by building for the workers of Edo State befitting
twin Labour Houses.”
Also in his speech, the Chairman of Trade
Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Ohue Marshall, urged Obaseki to block
loopholes in government by drastically reducing the number of political
appointees and also improve on its IGR in order to raise necessary fund.
“Furthermore,
we expect the government to pay attention to it’s buildings and offices
to make work environment conducive. Our offices as at today are not
qualified to be called offices but simply put, abandoned kitchens. This
as a result of complete neglect of various work places by past
governments over the years,” Marshall said.
Addressing the
workers, the State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who promised not to sack
workers, outlined his plans for rejuvenating the civil service.
The Governor who described organised labour as “the strategic place
of workers in the wealth creation process” of the state, disclosing that
he would stand with both unions and their affiliates to improve working
conditions and reward systems for workers in the state.
“I have
no doubt that working together and putting the interest of our state
first, we can rapidly reposition our state for peace and progress,” he
began.
“Be assured that this Government will not take your support
for granted. Our most valued asset as a government is our workers.
Labour and Government must collaborate to assist the local governments
to restructure so they would be better positioned to address their
perennial problems of unpaid salaries and pensions, low revenue
generation and poor service delivery,” he said.
The Governor also
added that it would be a setback if the government owed salaries to
workers, so he would ensure that all salaries are paid by the 26th of
every month.
He reiterated his vow to renovate the Palm House and
State Secretariat, adding that the government was concluding plans for a
new administrative building in the Government House.
He revealed
that the Civil Service Training School would be revivified and the State
would invest in retraining its workers before deploy cutting edge
technology as a tool to enhance service delivery.
To accomplish
his promises, Obaseki called on both Unions to work with him in ensuring
efficiency and productivity, as its efforts to curb waste in revenue
and productivity had already witnessed internally generated revenue
(IGR) double.
The State chapter of the Chris Ajaero-led United
Labour Congress (ULC), which broke out of the Nigeria Labour Congress
last year also observed the Workers’ Day at Ramat Park, Ikpoba Hill, in
Benin.
Meanwhile, the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II, has called on
Nigerian workers and employers of labour to work hard to get the country
out of its economic recession.
He made the call in his good will
message to members of the organised labour in the state as they join the
rest of the world to celebrate the 2017 International Workers’ Day.
Oba
Ewuare who commended the workers for their steadfastness, resilience
and commitment to the Nigerian project, urged them to be dedicated to
their duties at all times in order to be productive so that they can be
counted and rated high in the committee of workers internationally.
The
Monarch who expressed confidence that the condition of service of
Nigerian workers will improve prayed that “God will grant the country
quick economic recovery and also give the leaders the political will to
to enhance the welfare of Nigerian workers.”
