TASCE AND OGUN WORKERS: Ogun Government Must Pay all Salary Arrears of TASCE Workers

• Reinstate Former NLC Chair, Ambali and Meet Demands of Ogun Workers

By Eko John Nicholas

The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) Ogun chapter, calls on the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led APC/APM government to stop the current subterfuge, vacillations and arm-twisting in regards to the 30 months of unpaid salary and 48 months arrears; the long overdue promotion exercise; non remittance of pension funds; refusal to constitute governing council; reinstatement of all proscribed unions and lack of infrastructural development at the Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu. The government, rather than acceding to the legitimate demands of the workers at the institution has resulted to intimidations, threats and coercing of the leadership of COTAS (Coalition of Staff of TASCE); the platform currently spearheading the campaign: using the Nigeria police force.

CDWR condemns the police meddlesomeness, and demand an immediate stop to this undue involvement in purely industrial disputes. We equally call on the Ogun state government to stop using the police to harass and intimidate the workers forthwith, and to accede to the legitimate demands of the workers.

OGUN WORKERS’ DEMANDS

Besides TASCE, we call on the state government to meet the legitimate demands of the entire state workers. Despite assurances by Governor Amosun, and signing of MOU with organized labor on different occasions, including but not limited to the last protest by the national leadership of NLC on 5th Match, 2019, at Abeokuta, to meet the demands of workers, the government has stubbornly failed to respects its promises and pronouncements. These include a court order reinstating the immediate past NLC Chair Akeem Ambali who was illegally dismissed for courageously leading struggles in defense of worker’s rights.

The state workers are in struggle against the government over non-remittance of statutory deductions from workers’ salaries for pensions, cooperative, Sallah, Christmas amongst others over a period of 105 months; the non-utilization of the last tranche of the Paris Club refund for the payment of gratuity for both state and local government workers since 2013 despite signing a collective bargaining agreement with organized labor in Ogun State; and the sacking of the Chairman of the NLC from his employment for standing firm in the defense of the rights of workers in Ogun State.

TASCE CRISIS

TASCE Omu, formerly known as Ogun state college of Education, Ijebu Ode, established in 1977 by the state government, it would be recalled, was relocated to Omu community from Ijagun (the present site of TASUED), by the Gbenga Daniel administration in 2008. In 2011, the workers of the institution had embarked on 3 months strike to protest the failure of the then Gbenga Daniel-led PDP administration to implement the new salary structure (CONUASS/CONTEDISS) approved by the federal government in 2009. The Daniel-led government orchestrated squabbling in the state House of Assembly and used that as excuse to claim that the government was broke and couldn’t raise funds to upset the backlog of salary owned the workers due to an alleged ban on borrowing from financial houses placed on the administration by the assembly. Yet this alleged embargo didn’t prevent government officials from collecting fabulous salaries and allowances, while the worker’s demands were left unattended to. The Daniel government would later give all institutions of higher learning in the state a matching order to look inward (internally generate revenue) to complement government subventions due the purported shortfalls in the state revenue.

At the inception of Senator Ibikunle Amosun government on May 29th, 2011, he had promised to pay the workers of TASCE within six months of assumption of office and resolve all industrial disputes on that campus, and to equally increase the subvention to the college. But typical of all pro-rich governments irrespective of parties, devoted to the interest of a few fat cats, against the needs of the majority, through the implementations of anti-poor policies of privatization of social services, commercialization of education and award of contracts system against the use of public works, rather than upset the unpaid salary and arrears among others, the government not only reneged on the promises, but also denied owing the workers and stopped government subvention.

As of today, Tai Solarin College of Education salary arrears have accumulated for the past 10 years and now grosses to a financial liability of about N9 billion while trade unions in the institution have been proscribed for demanding settlement of unpaid salaries among other burning unresolved issues.

TASCE workers are also demanding that the Provost, Dr. Adeola Kiadese and other principal officials of the college be relieved of their posts and that substantive provost be appointed in line with the laid down laws establishing the college.

OUR DEMANDS:

• The police must steer clear of the industrial disputes at TASCE and stop harassing, intimidating and threatening the workers for their determined struggles against attacks on their rights.
• The workers unpaid 30 months’ salary and 48 months’ arrears be paid without further delay and modalities be put in place on how to resolve other burning issues including promotion of staff.
• All trade unions proscribed and their leaders dismissed at TASCE be reinstated unconditionally.
• Government must see education as a social service, and must fund it adequately, and not as a revenue generating enterprise.
• No workers must be victimized by the college management for their determined roles in these struggles.
• We call on NLC, TUC and civil society organizations, students etc. to help put pressure on the government to accede to the workers’ demands without further delay.
• We also call on NLC and TUC to organize a series of mass actions in support of TASCE and Ogun workers, as a prelude to a 48-hour strike to compel the government to meet the demands of the workers.