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DON'T
RETRENCH - NLC CAUTIONS KWARA EXPRESS
Umar Abdulwahab
National Pilot - August 23-29,2004
The Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC) has cautioned the management of Kwara State Transport Corporation, (Kwara
Express) against the proposed retrenchment of its workers.
Comrade Emmanuel Ayeoribe,
Kwara State Chairman of the NLC, speaking with the National Pilot shortly after
the congress State Executive Council meeting in Ilorin last Thursday also called
on state government to arrange for payment of all entitlements of workers of the
Gateway Insurance Company said to be liquidated.
He said that the meeting
deliberated on a number of issues among which were the proposed labour bill, the
pension acts, the problem of Gateway Insurance Company, the problem in Kwara
State Transport Corporation (Kwara Express), the problem in Kwara State
Polytechnic, and the general problems affecting workers in Kwara State.
On the Kwara State
Transport Corporation, the labour leader said, "we believe a lot of people are
intervening and we hope that the intervention will solve the problem. Because we
learnt that they wanted to sack some people. Another problem is that if they
said the place is over bloated why do they engage some other hands. Between
August and now they have employed over 30 workers".
"If actually the place is
over bloated, why in the first instance, do they employ? And if they believe the
place is over bloated let them start by sacking the people they have employed.
So there is no moral justification for it. This is a democracy and essentially
we believe what is good for the gooses is also good for the ganders", he
declared.
He added, "in the case of
the Gateway, it is unfortunate that we learnt that Gateway has been liquidated,
what is going to be the faith of the workers? How is the government going to
arrange to pay up their entitlements?
Commenting on the issue of
Kwara State Polytechnic, the chairman said, "the SEC see the suspension of
Comrade Adefila as quite vindictive", adding, "we believe this is not a case
that has just started today, we learnt has been on ground since his employment".
Why is it that at this time
they now recognise that there are some of his documents that they want to
harmonise. So we believed that it is just an act to silence him because they
felt he is on the side of the workers".
"So in our conclusion, at
the level of the SEC, we believe his suspension is very vindictive, uncalled for
and quite inhuman", he declared. | 
