SEQUEL to the directive by the Ogun State Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, workers in the service of the state government will, from Tuesday, commence a three-day warning strike.

The strike, according to the Secretary of the council, Comrade Modiu Bello, while addressing the press last Friday, became necessary in view of the inability of the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led government to pay their outstanding unremitted deductions.

Bello said the union resolved to embark on the warning strike after all consultations with government yielded no positive result.

He said that the state government had refused to pay four months deductions made from workers’ salaries in October, November, December 2014 and January 2015.

Bello said that the non-payment of the deductions, which include cooperative deductions, contributory pension fund, Ileya/Easter deductions and other bank deductions, had made life unbearable for the workers.

The union leader debunked any insinuation that the timing of the strike was politically-motivated, promising that the union would consider other options at the expiration of the strike.

He said, “The JNC is constrained to take this action since every known channel of negotiation/dialogue has proved abortive.”

“Labour, however, insisted that the arrears of deductions covering the mentioned months be fully offset before the payment of February 2015 salary to ameliorate the sufferings of workers in the state, who continue to find it increasingly difficult to meet their basic family needs, given that the objective of subscribing to some of these savings have been defeated, arising from these unpaid deductions.

“The government, however, reneged on her own position and neither acceded to the demand of labour. Furthermore, in realisation of plea made by the government, labour agreed to defer further negotiation on the issue of outstanding unremitted contributory pension fund deductions until after the general elections.

“We are very much aware that the sitting government will like to give us this colouration that the opposition is behind the strike. But we are very resolute because this matter has been on since last October. We are not bothered about what government will say. We are only fighting for workers’ rights and welfare,” he told reporters.