Okorocha face-off with Imo workers
For quite some time now, workers in Imo State have been passing through turbulent and harsh period in the hand of Governor Rochas Okorocha. The long rosy days of harmonious working relationship between the workers and the state governor have suddenly turned unpleasant giving the new approach been adopted by the governor.
The lingering imbroglio between the governor and the workers started at the inception of his second tenure in office which came into effect on May 29th 2015.
Before then, Okorocha in his first tenure in office had what could be said to be a healthy working relationship.
During his first tenure, the governor did not owe workers in the state any salaries until this period of his second tenure of administration in the state.
The whole problem started with failure by Governor Rochas Okorocha led administration to pay salaries of workers few months before election and some months after the inception of government.
The situation sparked off serious disagreement between the governor and workers including the labour unions in the state as they not only condemned the development but rose up against government’s action towards workers.
While civil servants working in various ministries and Local Government Areas in the state were being owed salaries for three monthss, those in the public sector and parastatals were owed between 5-8 months. Teachers recruited under youths- must- work programme were never paid for close to 10 months with those in both Imo Transport Cooperation were left without salaries for eight months.
Though the governor had in different fora while addressing Imo people and union leaders appealed for calm and understanding even as he promised to clear all outstanding salary arrears being owed to workers in the state as soon as the bailout fund was released.
While the issue about non payment of salaries of workers were being discussed at various gatherings, the governor came up with another policy on payment of salary through cheque. But the policy had been condemned by both workers and Imo people.
Also workers at both Local Government Areas and Imo State House of Assembly rejected the cheque idea which later resulted to series of demonstrations and locking up of the assembly gate and strike action by workers.
Again the governor in one of his meetings with heads of parastatals, permanent secretaries, senior civil servants held at the Ahiajoku Convention new Owerri disclosed his decision not to pay salaries of workers at the health sector, agric sector and some parastatals in the state because of what he described as a lingering issue between them and government. He insisted that salaries of workers at the affected sectors would only be paid whenever their issues were resolved.
He used the forum to inform workers that henceforth he would pay them the same amount being paid to their counterpart in other states like Abia, Enugu and other states around Imo, as the case may be, adding that days of payment to workers have gone. The governor used the forum to single out some medical health consultants for ridicule. He also sounded it clearly that after the clearing of the outstanding salaries of workers in the parastatals, he would not put in any government money in the sectors much less paying any worker a salary.
The development received general condemnation from both the public and leadership of labour during a visit to the state governor. The group led by the Imo State NLC Chairman, Comrade Austin Chilakpu who said that it would be unfair for the government to continue to withhold salaries of workers.
As the issue continued to linger, the governor came up again with concession of 28 sectors in the state with the impression that the parastatals were unproductive. This indeed was the last straw that broke the camel’s back as it generated serious controversy in the state. It equally attracted national criticism and condemnations from people within and outside.
Every Imo person including the workers and labour unions in the state saw the approach of the governor on the concession as a step to sack many workers in the state especially those in the parastatals.
The governor during his media chat immediately on arrival from his last Turkey trip insisted that there was no going back in his concession programme. He also said that the concession would only lead to changing the headship of the parastatals and not the entire workforce.
Among the parastatals that have already been concessioned include health sector, water board corporation, Imo and Agricultural Development Programme( ADP).
The concession came into effect despite all appeals by the labour unions in the state for the governor to drop the idea and pay workers their outstanding salaries.
Considering the measure as not only unconstitutional but also effort aimed at downsizing the workforce in the state, workers decided to drag the governor to an arbitration court.
Also making their stand known to government, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Imo Council, vehemently condemned attempt by Governor Rochas Okorocha to concession public health institutions in the state.
The chairman of the association, Dr. Hyacinth Emele, lamented that concession of the general hospitals and health centres would exclude the poor from accessing available and affordable quality healthcare centres.
The group which expressed regret over the recent concession of the Imo Specialist Hospital, Umuguma to one Dr Sylvanus Amaeshi, former Senior Special Adviser to the government on health, noted that the NMA had earlier advised the Imo government to uplift the existing facilities and invest in health by providing adequate manpower, equipment, finances, training and retraining of doctors and other health workers to build effective state health system.
He said rather than heed to the advice, the government embarked on building 27 poorly sited new general hospitals without proper planning.
The NMA chairman also called for the immediate payment, in full, of the eight months salary arrears of medical doctors and health workers in the state as well as the payment of corrected CONMESS and skipping to doctors working in the state.