By Jamiu Ganiyu
The Joint Labour Movement of the three labour union in Osun State (NLC, TUC, and JNC) has expressed their dissatisfaction over what the trio described as poor treatment of workers and pensioners in the state.
The Osun State labour movement made this known in a joint letter of protest addressed to the Executive Governor of the State, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, signed by the leadership of NLC, TUC and JNC on 15th June, a copy which was made available to osun.life, among other things, the labour unions alleged that the state government had run foul of the law that established the contributory pension scheme especially the vital sections of the law such as section 18.5(a) and (b), 6,7,8,9 and 10.
In the same vein, the labour unions expressed sadness over the failure of Osun State government to remit workers deductions on Contributory Pension to their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) since January 2016. The workers alleged that 40 months had been deducted from workers salary whereas the Government has failed to remit 7.5% counterpart funding thereby breaching the above-mentioned sections of the pension law.
The labour movement also condemned the harrowing experience of staff who retire under the scheme since 2012 and has not benefited from either person and gratuity, sentencing the affected retirees to squalor, deprivation, and death in many cases.
Other issues raised in the letter are: demand for payment of arrears of salaries, appropriate placement for staff deployed to teaching service, monetisation of last promotion exercise, the need for government to intervene in UNIOSUN, where the Vice Chancellor and the management team allegedly suspended 34 members of all non-academic unions, stay of execution of the directive to deduct 1.5% of salary of workers in the state for National Health Insurance Scheme, etc.
The labour unions in the state, however, restated their belief in Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s ability to sustain industrial peace and harmony in the state.