It might be understandable why the high tempo of labour and civil society activism in Edo State. The fact that a comrade and foremost labour leader in the country is the governor. This perhaps explains why on a daily basis there are placards wielding groups on the streets making one demand or the other. But what appears to be in the horizon, is a deliberate attempt by some groups to abuse the democratic and comaraderie disposition of the Edo State Governor.
I state this for a number of reasons: First, it was obvious from previous experiences that some labour leaders of some trade unions make themselves willing tools in the hands of the opposition political parties to destabilise the state for reasons best known to them. Secondly, some groups for the share reasons of wanting to get undue media attention, put some groups together and file to the streets, making spurious allegations against the state government but under the sponsorship of some disgruntled elements who for selfish reasons want to give the government a bad name in order to convict it in the court of public opinion.
Some of such groups also embark on needless media campaign against an administration that mean so well for the people of the state. For instance, when the Edo State Government muted the idea for an assessment for teachers, some jobless politicians felt it was an entry point for political profiteering. Some idle minds said the assessment was meant to sack teachers! They kept on deceiving the public, even when repeatedly, the Edo State Government kept assuring teachers and other stakeholders that it had no plans whatsoever to use the assessment or competency test to sack any teacher. It was clear that some teachers were working with the disgruntled PDP elements in the state who were hell bent on frustrating this noble intensions of government.
Public schools were shut down for months even in a state where the Comrade Governor was the first to implement the Teachers Salary Structure in the country. This sad situation was only to be put to rest following the intervention of well meaning groups.
Then came the issue of medical workers as represented by Nurses and Doctors and other allied unions in the health sector. Hospitals were shut down for over two months with patients dying like rats and Doctors folded their hands and watched their patients dying just to make a point to a man who without any prompting was the first to implement the enhanced medical workers salary structure in the country.
What about the issue of review of N18,000 minimum wage implementation. Edo State was the first to implement this minimum wage even before the federal government completed their negotiations with the NLC and TUC, Edo State had not only entered an agreement with the Joint negotiating Council, but had gone ahead to implement.
As at today, over 18 state governments including oil-rich Delta are owing their workers’ salaries. Some States like Osun, Cross River, Benue, Plateau, Kwara and others are owing between seven and eight months. But the Comrade Governor is not owing any worker in the state public service, even in the face of dwindling oil revenue that has spanned several months. Oshiomhole, therefore deserves to be commended and not vilified by labor. Besides, he ought to enjoy an amazing industrial harmony, peace and concord all through his administration because he is proactive to workers needs.
Sadly, today it is the issue of Judiciary workers. They have chosen to shut down the courts for over six months now. Edo people are not asking the leadership why they chose to act that way in spite of the comrade governor’s disposition to meet their needs. Call of your strike, go back to work and come for negotiation was the request of the state government. This was an action started by the workers who did not declare a trade dispute with the state government as laid down in the Labour laws of the country. They simply said they were on strike on orders from their colleagues in Abuja and they chose to hold the judiciary to ransom. This, to say the least, is unfair to a very progressive governor who is even willing to implement the judiciary autonomy as being demanded by the judiciary workers.
Why should workers believe that they are the ones to enforce the autonomy of the judiciary and not the executive arm of government. How much does JUSUN think they would really benefit from Judiciary autonomy? Have the members sat down to think of it. Methinks the workers need to really think this through, so that they do not end up regretting their actions.
It is indeed sad that the Judiciary workers started their strike with a latent motive which most Nigerians read to be political. Why should JUSUN embark on strike few weeks to a general election? What was their motive? There are reports of how some of their leaders had meetings with opposition parties with an aim of not having the courts in session to receive petitions when a particular candidate would be disqualified to contest the presidential poii and the incumbent would have just be returned unopposed. This was the game plan at the Federal. When they discovered that their game plan did not work out they quickly called off the strike. Edo State JUSUN who do not get their salaries from the Federal Government preferred to remain on strike because they were taking orders from the opposition PDP in the state.
What the judiciary workers need to do now to redeem whatever is left of their image is to call of their strike and enter into dialogue with government on how to address their issues. This is because the strike is not in the interest of the well meaning people of Edo State.
It is sad that when one trade union finishes with its agitation, another picks up from where they let off as though trade unions are now in a competition of some sorts of who embarks on strike the most for a diamond award. They forget that when two Elephants fight, the grass suffers. When you go on strike because you are following a law, the chief executive also follows the law to say; no work, no pay. if you do not collect your pay because you refuse to work are you the only one that suffers it? Certainly no, your dependants would also suffer from your decision.
But going forward, we need industrial peace in Edo. States that have not paid salaries for seven months and eight months in some cases have not gone on streets to protest. Workers in Cross River, Benue and Plateau are not on the streets because they understand that their government is unable to pay. Edo where the man has gone the extra mile to take care of workers is where workers are on the streets everyday with placards. This has to stop, otherwise, the workers would indirectly be discouraging a willing government to meet their needs.
. Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State.
Gov. Adams Oshiomhole
