Men of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested Joe Ajaero, the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, in Owerri, the capital of Imo State.
Benson Upah, the Head of Information at NLC, stated that Ajaero was arrested at the state secretariat of the congress and subsequently whisked away to an undisclosed destination.
“President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero was picked up a few minutes ago from NLC state council secretariat by heavily armed policemen in Owerri and taken to an unknown destination,” Upah informed our correspondent via a text message.
it was reported that the NLC had vowed to mobilize its members for a total strike in Imo state starting Today, November 1, 2023.
Ajaero, during a press briefing on Sunday, had accused the Imo State Government of “violating the rights of the Nigerian workers in the state.”
Accusing the state governor, Hope Uzodimma, of neglecting the well-being of workers, Ajaero expressed his sorrow over the alleged loss of lives due to the reported non-payment of their salaries.
He pointed out a series of violations committed against workers by Uzodimma, which included the failure to honor previous agreements, particularly the accord established on January 9, 2021, outstanding salary arrears spanning about 20 months, the unjust classification of workers as non-existent employees, the misidentification of pensioners as nonexistent beneficiaries, and the unresolved gratuity arrears, among other issues.
Ajaero mentioned that approximately 10,000 pensioners have been wrongly categorized as phantom pensioners, leading to over 22 months of unpaid pensions, while around 11,000 workers have been wrongly labeled as nonexistent by the Imo State Government.
The President of the NLC also expressed his disappointment in the state government’s failure to comply with the national minimum wage and highlighted that Governor Uzodinma has resisted the use of social dialogue and collective bargaining to address these concerns.
