The Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) has urged Imo State residents to stock up their homes with basic
needs to survive as the Union prepares for an indefinite strike.
President of NLC, Joe
Ajaero revealed this in a statement. He said the state government has
deliberately terrorized residents through some negative actions of some
operatives who have been bequeathed with the powers of the state.
He said that the state
government, through its information commissioner has been peddling falsehood.
He accused the Imo state
government of turning the once-prided “Eastern Heartland” into a toxic and
extremely unpleasant environment.
Ajaero said “Hobbesian
state of nature, a state once prided itself as the Eastern Heartland has become
prevalent, exposing not just workers in the state but institutions and
individuals to the most horrendous of scare, fear, and violence in their daily
activities.
“In the pursuit of our legitimate strike action to restore
sanity to the state’s industrial relations sphere, we wish to advise that those
traveling to Imo state through the airport to look for other alternatives,
those that make use of petroleum products should make efforts to seek
alternatives and those that use electricity to seek other options outside the
National Grid.
“We are resolved to
press home our demands and until these infractions are remedied, we will
continue escalating the industrial action till the government is compelled to
show reason and restore meaningful and effective dialogue in the state.”
He gave some of the
reasons for the industrial action to include 20 months’ salary arrears owed to
some workers stigmatized as ghost workers; declaration of about 11,000 workers
in the state as ghost workers; intimidation and harassment of Trade Union
leaders; and continued use of thugs and instruments of violence against workers
in the state among others.
Meanwhile,
Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has approved the immediate removal of Chief
Ford Ozumba, the State Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, from office.
His remove was not unconnected to the logjam going on between the NLC and the
State government.
In a terse statement on Saturday,
the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba said,
"Accordingly, His Excellency further directs that Chief Ozumba hands over
to the Permanent Secretary of his Ministry with immediate effect."
The State has witnessed black out for the past one week, as the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has not been able to explain to the customers reasons for the black out. Residents are of the view that they are waiting for the EEDC to bring in their outrageous and estimated bill and be reay to slug it out with them.
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