CDWR MASS MEETING INITIATES CAMPAIGN FOR FULL PAYMENT OF UNPAID SALARY AND PENSION ARREARS IN OYO STATE

By Michael Ogundele

The Oyo State Chapter of Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) initiated a public meeting of public workers in the state on Tuesday 21st of July, 2015. This meeting was organized to launch a campaign among public workers in the state for full payment of all unpaid salaries and pensions by the APC-led government in the state. Oyo State is one of the 18 states expected to benefit from the N713 billion bailout fund recently approved by the Federal government to specifically offset all unpaid salary and pension arrears workers and retirees in the affected state are owed.

In attendance at the meeting were about 100 workers. Virtually all of them were teachers from the five local government areas in Ibadan and its metropolis. These local government areas are: Akinyele, Egbeda, Ibadan North, Ibadan North-East, and Ibadan South-east.

The CDWR in preparing for this meeting produced about 6000 copies of a leaflet. This leaflet, no doubt, captures the aspiration and agitation of Oyo State workers as they all volunteered to take more copies to their workplaces for circulation. Various comments and contributions made by some of the workers who attended the meeting also showed that leaflet advances their demands.

This is second leaflet the CDWR has produced in Oyo over the issue of unpaid salaries and pensions. The first leaflet was circulated a few weeks ago among workers in both primary and secondary schools specifically in Ibadan North and Egbeda local government areas in the state. This could have accounted for why the meeting was largely dominated by teachers.

Nevertheless, the meeting arrived at some resolutions on how workers from other sectors like local government, agencies, departments and ministries can be mobilized to participate in subsequent meetings.

Given the various suggestions and the readiness expressed by the workers at the meeting, it is expected that the next meeting will enjoy more attendance and participation from workers across various sectors in the state. A steering committee for the campaign is expected to be elected at the next meeting.

The immediate task before the steering committee will be the need to start to work out the possible public activities like press conferences, mass meetings, rallies, etc aimed at mobilizing mass support of workers and the public for the campaign as well as forcing the state government to meet the demand for full payment of salaries and pensions arrears.