As civil servants in Cross River State led by the Labour unions and the state government continue to take extreme positions in the on-going Labour dispute that has all but visibly crippled government activities in the state, former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Venatius Ikem, has taken a swipe at Labour for fighting with “The Most Friendly Labour Governor.”
Ikem who commented on Facebook thus: “How Can Labour Fight The Most Friendly Labour Governor?”, is believed to be making a sarcastic reference to the endless times Labour leaders in Cross River State have publicly declared state governor, Ben Ayade, as “The Most Friendly Labour Governor”, the latest being during the visit of Acting President, Yomi Osinbajo to CRS, something that has never gone down well with a wide section of civil servants in the state who had accused the leadership of Labour in the state of carving out this award as a way of drawing personal benefits to while workers suffer.
However John Ushie, NLC chairman in CRS, has reacted to this swipe by maintaining exclusively to www.calitown.com that “we gave Ayade this award that you are talking about and since he has refused to be friendly to workers, we have also decided to confront him. That we called him “The Most Friendly Labour Governor”, does not mean we cannot demand for our salaries, gratuities and pensions and if he refuses to pay, we will continue to sit at home, threat or no threat.”
Labour also today, June 28, 2017, defied the CRSG’s directive that civil servants must return to work. Special Labour teams peacefully accosted a few civil servants who responded to the broadcast directive and sent them away, after educating them on the benefits of the strike. Government sources however maintain that Labour is towing the hard line and refusing to see that the issues can be resolved without “the drama of a strike action”, as one government source told www.calitown.com
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