The President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero has been whisked away by the Police at the ongoing protest by Organised Labour in Imo State, his home State.
NLC had earlier said it would begin protests in Imo State from November 1, 2023 to protest alleged violation and abuse of rights and privileges of workers by the State government.
And as a counter-measure, hoodlums who converged to stop the protests descended on protesters, smashing vehicles and inflicting wounds on workers and other labour members.
It is not yet clear where the NLC President was taken to by the heavily armed security personnel who took him away.
In justifying the protests, Ajaero noted that “NLC was deeply concerned about the persistent and egregious violations of the rights and privileges of workers in Imo State by the State Government.
“Despite our repeated efforts to engage in constructive dialogue and reach amicable agreements, the Imo State Government has become a habitual and serial breaker of these agreements, continuing to trample on the rights of workers in the State.
“As a result, we are left with no choice but to embark on mass protests and industrial actions beginning on the 1st day of November, 2023.
“This is to demonstrate our outrage and stop the continuing violation of the rights and privileges of workers in the State.”
The NLC President added that the protest was imperative as the government of the State had refused to implement previous agreements, reneging on all of them, including the accord reached on January 9, 2021 between the Government and Organised Labour.
“On outstanding salary arrears, shockingly, some workers have been subjected to a staggering 20 months of unpaid salaries under the unfounded label of ‘ghost workers’.
“Unjust declaration of workers as ghost workers,. Approximately 11,000 hardworking individuals have been unjustly branded as ghost workers, their salaries diverted even while they diligently carried out their duties,” he said.