Workers of the Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, formerly Abia State polytechnic, Aba, who were disengaged from service in 2019, have lamented that they are dying of hunger and urged Governor Alex Otti, pay the entitlements owed them since 2019.
The disengaged workers also demanded the Governor to reinstate them as they were unjustly sacked from service by the management of the polytechnic.
They also cried that over four of them have died due to inability to access funds for medical care while others have relocated to the villages and their children withdrawn from school.
Coordinator of the disengaged workers ,Comrade Nwachukwu Chuks, in an interview with Vanguard in Umuahia,stated that the disengaged workers numbering over 100, were victims of political witch-hunt as a result of staff union activities and should be reinstated and their arrears of salaries paid.
He further lamented that the inability of the government to pay their arrears of salaries have led to the death of four disengaged workers as they couldn’t afford the cost of medication for their ailments.
He said;”We are dying of hunger and other forms of deprivations. Many of our members have relocated to their villages and their children withdrawn from schools because they can no longer afford rent and school fees. We have also lost four of our members because they couldn’t afford medical bills to take care of themselves. This is why we are pleading with Governor Alex Otti to pay our entitlements owed us from 2019 to date.
“We have no’t been paid a dime since we were unjustly disengaged in 2019. The annoying thing is that the government and the management of the polytechnic are no longer showing interest in our condition or even talking about it. Maybe, they feel that by terminating our appointments, they have terminated their obligations and responsibilities to us. Most of us served the polytechnic diligently and were close to retirement age before we were disengaged without any justification.
“All the affected workers were duly engaged by the state government and the Polytechnic. The workers were duly confirmed and promoted as and when due. These gestures gave statutory flavour to our appointments. The affected workers are not only entitled to their arrears of salaries before the termination but are also entitled to their gratuities and pensions.
“We have made efforts to draw the attention of the current management of the polytechnic and the Governor to our plight,without success. We are aware that the Governor has heard about our case,but we want urgent action to save lives and the future of our children. We want the Governor to direct the polytechnic to pay our entitlements and also reinstate us.
“We are aware that the Alex Oti’s administration is not responsible for what happened but government is a continuum. This is why we have been pleading with him to come to our aid.
“The truth is that we are suffering from political victimization. We were disengaged because as union officials and leaders,we insisted that things must be done rightly, especially in the payment of salaries. We were sacked for insisting on due process and sanity in the polytechnic.
“The situation got to a choking point that industrial unions in the institution declared a total strike which the then government saw as an affront.
“As at 2019, we were owed 16 months arrears of salaries which has not been paid till date. Rather than address the issues which occasioned the strike, the government tagged the union leadership as agents of political destabilization. This was how we lost our jobs and have been suffering till date.
“Though the Alex Otti government is yet to look towards us, we commend the manner in which he has prioritized prompt payment of salaries in the state. We want him to treat us fairly because we were unjustly disengaged from service.”
Source:
vanguard
