Workers Give Governor Fayemi 21-day Ultimatum To Pay Lingering Entitlements

Organised labour under the aegis of Trade Union Congress in Ekiti State has given the state government 21-day ultimatum within which to pay backlog of their arrears, otherwise it would resort to embarking on industrial action.

The workers said that the non-payment of the entitlements had made life unbearable for them in the face of the present harsh economic realities.

They also lamented cases of incessant kidnappings in the state and charged the government and security agencies “to quickly rise to the challenge and nip it in the bud.”

This disclosure was contained in a communiqué signed by the state TUC Chairman, Sola Adigun, and Secretary, Yomi Peters, at the end of its meeting on Tuesday.

The labour union said Governor Kayode Fayemi promised to offset all arrears of payment before the expiration of his tenure in October, noting that he still has the opportunity of the next 21 days to fulfill the promise.

They listed their demands to include: remittance of already deducted dues such as co-operative deductions, contributory pension bank loans repayment, NHF fund, to the appropriate quarters.

They decried that most of their members had not benefited from the new minimum wage after almost two years of implementation in the state, and called on the government “to implement the minimum wage across the board for all workers without further delay.”

They also stated that the 2018-2019 promotion exercise was selectively implemented, and called on the state government to ensure that others exempted should be immediately captured for financial remuneration.

The workers also expressed displeasure at the refusal of the Accountant-General of the state to continue with cooperative savings of Ekiti workers, due to the alleged presence of some syndicate operating in her office.