Workers’ welfare: Effect Change in your leadership now, CSCEOS tells Osun workers

A civil rights group, the Civil Societies Coalition for the
Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) has advised the cross section of
the State and Local government workers in the State to take the bull
by the horn to effect the necessary change in the leadership of their
unions, including Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Union of
Teachers (NUT), Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), Nigeria Union of
Local Government Employee (NULGE) and other affiliate unions, saying
that their current leadership lacked sincere and moral capability to
continue in office .

It however alleged that the present crop of Labour Unions leaders in
the State have had a gentleman agreement with the State governor, Mr.
Rauf Aregbesola not to pay the outstanding of 18 months arrears of
salaries and pensions to the affected workers and retirees alike in
the State, stressing that they have compromised with the government to
subdue the workers and pensioners interest and welfare.

It added that the Labour leaders had conspired with the State
government under the watch of Aregbesola to divert the Paris Club
refunds under the guise of ongoing white elephant projects which the
State government had earlier borrowed huge amount of funds from local
and international financial institutions to execute since 2012, 2013
and 2014 and this gargantuan borrowing lead to the financial quagmire
facing the State in 2015 and 2016.

The CSCEOS’ Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, made this known
on Monday, while addressing the members of the Nigeria Union of
Pensioners(NUP), Osun State chapter at their Internally Displaced
Pensioners(IDP) camp, held at popular Olaiya Junction area, Osogbo,
the State Capital, regretted that State labour leaders were always in
support of Aregbesola led government, while the workers and pensioners
were wallowing in abject poverty due to non-payment of their nine(9)
months backlog of salaries and pensions.

Comrade Sulaiman insisted that the Labour Leaders, including; Jacoob
Adekomi of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Wakeel Amuda of Nigeria
Union of Teachers(NUT),Bayo Adejumo of Joint Negotiating Council(JNC),
A. Adeyeye of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees(NULGE) and
other leaders of the affiliate Union, including;one Gbenga Oyebode,
were hobnobbing with Mr. Aregbesola, for their own personal pocket
benefits, calling for the disbandment of Comrade Hassan Sunmonu
Allocation Apportionment Committee, noting that the Committee with
Labour Leaders were good for nothing but to show their insensitivity
to the workers and retirees plight in the State.

The high points of the event which was graced by the CSCEOS’
Director, Media and Strategy, Bishop Seun Adeoye and Justice Olamide
Folahanmi Oloyede who through her organization,the Virtuous Unlimited
and Justice Initiative, rendered free medical services to the retirees
in the State.

He advised the pensioners in the State to continue with their legal
and democratic means of pressurizing for their home demands of
gratuities, stoppage of half pension allowances and payment
outstanding 18 months half pension allowances by the State government,
described Aregbesola as an embezzler gladiator who needs to be
confronted with brigandage approach, lambasting the Labour leaders for
conniving with Aregbesola not to declare the true monthly payment
figure of the State since after the September 2015 Workers and
Retirees Screening exercise.

According to him; “This is high time for the workers in Osun State to
replace their current crop of their Labour Union leadership in the
NLC, NUT, NULGE, JNC and other affiliate unions, because they have
mortgaged the welfare of workers and retirees for their personal
pocket. The Labour leaders have conspired with Mr. Rauf Aregbesola not
to pay the 9month of backlog of workers’ salaries and pensions’
allowances. It is our believe that the power of any Labour union
belongs to their workers.

“It is our candid advice to Comrade Hassan Sunmonu led- 17 Man
Allocation Apportionment Committee and other members of the Committee
that still has integrity to resign from the Kangorro Committee that
is toothless bulldog which can only bark but cannot bite. Hassan
Sunmonu Committee is good as nothing because all its decisions are not
bund on the State Government under the watch of Aregbesola and their
failure to declare the total amount be of categories of funds;
including; meager monthly allocations, monthly Local Government
Allocations, Budget Support funds, Ecological Funds, Internally
Generated Revenue Funds, Bailout funds and so on, being received by
the State Government from the Federal Government, and how it was
expended since the last fourteen months of the existence of the
Committee and the State government still continue with their payment
of modulated half salaries. Who is fooling who?