NLC threatens national day of action against privatisation in Oyo

Labour backs Ondo, Ekiti workers’ strike

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to embark on a national action over the sale of public schools by the Oyo state government.

The Joint National Public Service Negotiation Council (Trade union side) has expressed its support for the on-going industrial action embarked upon by the Ondo and Ekiti states workers.

In a letter to the State governor, Abiola Ajumobi, the President of Congress, Ayuba Wabba, called for the resolution of the matter before it snowballs into major labour crisis.

He added: “We call for an amicable resolution of this matter for the interest of justice and industrial harmony. However, we will not hesitate to call for a national action in support of our members in Oyo State if the State Government fails to see the wisdom in our unsolicited advice.”

NLC urged the governor to jettison the move to sell the schools and release labour leaders that are detained by the Oyo State government over the matter, saying, “criminalizing labour issues will not be helpful to our industrial relations – conflict resolution process.”

Wabba stressed that it is the right of workers to embark on peaceful protest against any perceived wrongs in the polity as enunciated in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), labour laws, ILO Conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory, and human rights laws cannot be abridged by government.

“We hold the view that the public schools which the Government of Oyo State has put up for sale without due process or the consent of the people is not only ultra vires, it constitutes a betrayal of the people and the ideals for which Chief Awolowo stood,” he stated.

The NLC chief argued that the selling the schools under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) is a social injustice that would deny generations of the children of the poor access to education guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution as amended.

He pointed out that the Federal Government quickly jettisoned the PPP policy in the past when Unity Schools were put up for sale.

In a separate letter to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, Wabba urged the immediate release of the detained labour leaders.

“We urge that effort should be made by all segments of the society including the Nigeria Police Force in order not to precipitate an avoidable national crisis, as we will not hesitate to call out a nation-wide action in support of our colleagues in Oyo State,” he said.

In declaring its support for the on-going industrial action in Ondo and Ekiti states, the Joint National Public Service Negotiation Council (Trade union side) said the main contention that ignited the strike actions was failure of the two state governments to pay monthly salaries of their workers for the past five months and engage in negotiations with labour bodies in the two states.

According to a statement signed by the National Chairman of JNPSNC, Kiri Mohammed, the workers have endured enough since they have no other source of income to sustain their families.

He urged the governments of both states to urgently enter into negotiations with labour with a view to finding amicable solutions to the impasse to forestall further unpleasant consequences that will lead to a total shutdown of the economies of the two states.