apc governor vows not pay workers salary - Ajimobi

– Oyo governor has said he will adopt a no-work, no pay strategy should workers go on strike in the state – Ajimobi said ultimatum issued by Labour is not only surprising but unnecessary and uncalled-for in the prevailing

circumstances – Traditional rulers have begged the organized labour to dialogue with the governor

In what could be described as I-don’t-care-attitude, Oyo state governor Abiola Ajimobi has said he is not deterred by the strike threat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), vowing that any worker who goes on strike will not be paid. He said ultimatum issued by Labour is not only surprising but unnecessary and uncalled-for in the prevailing circumstances. He urged the labour leaders to negotiate with the government, vowing that any worker who goes on strike without following due process will not be paid. The flamboyant governor equally said he is not ready and will not review the 90 per cent income dedicated for the payment of workers salary from the Federation Account. READ ALSO: Again: EFCC comes for PDP’s Olisa Metuh According to him, government cannot pay 62,000 workers with the money that ought to be used to maintain over 10 million citizens. “Modern day labour union and government relationship has listed steps that must be taken. Step one is if you have any concern about anything, there is a joint negotiation committee that is made up of government and workers, you first go there to discuss with them. “If after the discussion it does not work then you can go to the next level where the head of service and government will now appoint some people to discuss. It is when negotiations have broken down that labour can give notice of strike and not this old time labour government relationship where without discussing you will issue ultimatum to go on strike. “It is illegal because this is a government where law must be followed and obeyed, not this culture of impunity. It is wrong to give an ultimatum to go on strike without reaching a consensus with the government. “We have an agreement, there was a time we use to get close to N5 billion from the Federal Government and our IGR was like N1 billion, now everybody is aware of the situation, and now we are having N2 billion plus from Federal Governmen,” he was quoted by Nation newspaper. READ ALSO: Find out what Wike, Akpabio, Mantu are set to do to PDP Also, traditional rulers in the state have begged the labour leaders not to go on strike. The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, said labour should be considerate and embrace the government’s conditions while the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, said: “The government has tried his best allocating 90 per cent of the federal allocation to pay the worker’s salary. The labour leaders only need to be patient and considerate.”