Segun Ayinde, Abeokuta
Banks, schools and hospitals on Monday shutdown activities in Ogun State following the ongoing indefinite strike declared by the leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
FirstNews observed that banks around Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta did not open for operation while schools around the axis, including St Annes Nursery and Primary School sent their pupils to return home.
At state hospital, Ijaye in Abeokuta, nurses were seen withdrawing services as doctors on duties gave out skeletal services on patients
A senior matron who spoke with our correspondent under the condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation also confirmed that the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu joined the strike and patients told to go home.
She said, “I can tell you that the staff in OOUTH have joined the strike, although the doctors who are not members of NLC are still on duty. The patients are left with no other choice than to be discharged and come back whenever the strike is called off”
Addressing newsmen on the strike action, the Chairman, Trade Union Congress, Ogun State, Akeem Lasisi said the strike was very successful, noting there was total compliance by workers in the state
Lasisi said, “We are all aware that the organised labour gave the federal government till May 31, 2024, to implement the new minimum wage and that if it fails, the labour will have no choice but to embark on the indefinite strike starting today.
“The organised labour also demanded that the recently increased electricity tariff from N225 per kilowatt per hour should also be reverted to N66 per kilowatt per hour.
“We have warned the government that the labour rejected this apartheid categorisation of electricity consumers into band A, B, C, D. Labour rejected this discrimination and told the FG to revert this policy but the government has failed to do this. Even the Minister of Power has said nothing about this.
“The Federal government said it will pay workers N60,000 new minimum wage but we want all Nigerians to know that organised labour cannot reduce the minimum wage because as we speak, the least paid federal government worker collects N77,000.”
“How will the federal government now be offering N60,000, there is a lot of insincerity on the part of the government. The truth is that the workers are suffering with all the increase in prices of food and other commodities, what of transportation fares? Life is becoming too hard.
“The level of compliance as far as the strike is concerned is total – the schools, hospitals, the local government secretariats, the state and even federal secretariat are shutdown. We only allow some schools to open because of the students writing the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, so the strike in Ogun State has been quite successful.
“We, however, sincerely hope that the federal government will be reasonable enough to dialogue with workers to get this challenge resolved once and for all in favour of the workers. The truth is that the suffering is much and the government needs to respond positively to our modest requests.”