Ondo State workers yesterday commenced a two-day warning strike to press home their demand for the payment of their September and October salaries and the deduction by the state government.

All the gates leading to government ministries, agencies and parastatals were locked by labour leaders as early as 6.30am, while the workers also failed to show up at their duty post.

The workers had last week threatened to embark on industrial action, if the state government failed to attend to their demand.

The workers alleged that government refused to remit to their banks, the deductions for the two months.

Speaking on the workers strike, the state chairman of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, JNC, Sunday Adeleye said workers embarked on the strike over the failure of the state government to pay their entitlements

Adeleye said ‘’If our request is not attended to after the warning strike, thereafter, total strike shall be declared without reservations. Workers and the entire citizens are not fools.”

According to him, “Non-payment of all deductions in the salary shows government insensitivity to the plight of civil servants in the state, hence the need for the strike.

“The non-payment of all deductions such as cooperatives, shilling funds and month loan repayment deductions among others for the month of September, October, November and December 2014 by the state government has exposed government height of insensitivity to the plight of workers and masses in general.

‘’The mood of workers and the entire populace in the state are full of hopeless, recurrent disappointment, disenfranchisement, poverty ridden, betrayal of trust and over-burden.” He said.

Teachers in public primary and secondary schools also joined in the strike, while pupils and students who reported in their schools to continue with their on-going first term examination were sent back by their teachers

The Special Adviser to the governor on Union Matter, Dayo Fadahunsi appealed to the workers to return to their office so as to allow government to continue with on-going dialogue.

From National Mirror

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