Organised labour in Imo State is on warpath with Governor Rochas Okorocha, whose administration yesterday executed a mass sack of workers in 19 parastatals, agencies and departments. Only 15 agencies, departments and parastatals were deemed healthy and spared in the exercise that affected over 3,000 workers.

The Imo State Government explained that the massive sack followed what it called “a productivity audit recently conducted in the parastatals, agencies and departments.”

The statement signed by the Secretary to the Government, Sir Jude Ejiogu, stated that “government is satisfied that it is no longer in the public interest to keep running these agencies, parastatals and departments with huge cost on public revenue and no value services to the public under the present economic realities.”

Reacting swiftly to the development, labour leaders in the state yesterday directed workers affected by the sack order to “report to their places of work and close at the approved time.”

The directive was signed by all the labour leaders in the state, including the state Chairman and Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Austin Chilakpu and Kenneth Onwuemeodo respectively.

“The workers are directed to, in line with the rules governing attendance to work, report to their various places of work and close at the approved time,” the labour leaders directed.

The aggrieved unionists equally insisted that “workers cannot be sacked or suspended or given any form of punishment through radio announcement, a complete disregard to due process.

“It is also necessary to further point out that workers, who have worked up to the 15th of the month, cannot be suspended and backdated to January 4, 2016,” the unionists fumed.

Labour recalled that when the factional National President of the NLC, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, visited Governor Okorocha in Government House, Owerri, last Wednesday, he not only promised that no worker in the state would be sacked or suspended, but also denied that salaries of Imo workers had been slashed.

•Photo shows Governor Okorocha.

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