Alex Otti
Otti begs Abia worker to call of strike
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Abia State Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti, has appealed to Abia workers to call off their ongoing indefinite industrial action in order to provide conducive environment for the smooth take-off of his incoming administration.
Coordinator of Alex Otti Inauguration Committee, Hon. Iheanacho Obioma (Chomen), who made the appeal on behalf of his principal during a parley with newsmen in Umuahia on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, noted that calling off the strike on the eve of Otti’s inauguration on May 29 would demonstrate that the strike was not targeted at his administration.
“The only way we will know that this strike is not against Dr Alex (Otti) is that on the eve of May 29th, the Labour leaders would call off the strike,” he said.
Obioma reminded the workers that during the campaigns, Otti promised that he would not owe salaries and that he would make sure that he finds a way to clear the salary backlog owed civil servants and pensioners; and urged the workers to give incoming Governor the opportunity to fulfill his promise.
He told the workers that confronting the incoming administration with strike would amount to tying the new Governor’s hand and forcing him to enter into negotiation with Labour from the day of his assumption of office.
He lamented that the workers’ strike was taking place in the twilight of the outgoing administration led by Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu and enjoined them to join hands with Otti in his mission to build a new, prosperous Abia.
Recall that on May 9, 2023, Abia State NLC resumed their suspended indefinite industrial action by shutting down government operations till date, accusing government of reneging on earlier agreements reached before the strike was suspended.
The workers explained that they embarked on the strike because of salary and pension arrears, poor welfare of workers, as well as harassment and intimidation of workers and union leaders.
Acting State Chairman of Abia NLC, Comrade Nweke told newsmen that the workers resumed their suspended indefinite industrial action because the state government has failed to honour agreements it reached with the organized Labour last March aimed at ameliorating the plight of workers in the state, insisting that Abia workers would only return to work when government pays their arrears of salaries and pensions.
Though the state government has intervened and paid some workers but Labour said the payment was very selective and has continued to insist that all workers must be paid before they would resume work.
It is still unclear, with May 29 by the corner, if the labour leaders would call of the strike and give the incoming administration the benefit of the doubt.
