NO
TO A FURTHER DELAY
PRESS STATEMENT
*Trade union and civil society organizations must
step up mass actions to further press
for the immediate release of the panel’s report as well as reversal of all
draconian measures under which workers in the institute groan *
The
Oyo State Chapter of Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) expresses
its dissatisfaction and worries over the delay in the report of Presidential
Panel of Inquiry set up by the Federal Government to investigate range of industrial
disputes that have engulfed Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan for
the past 10 months.
At
the same time, we call on trade unions, civil society organizations and well
meaning Nigerians to join the campaign for immediate and unconditional reversal
of all forms of anti-workers policies like proscription of union activities,
non-payment of salaries etc., holding sway in the institute as well as reinstatement
of the 95 workers whom were also arbitrarily sacked by the Prof. Malacky
Akoroda, the Executive Director of the institute.
It
is important to state that following series of mass actions and programmes like
protest to media houses, press conferences; rallies; public distribution and
circulation of leaflets organized by CDWR, Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) and
trade unions like Non Academic Staff Union (NASU), Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) along the committee of the sacked 95 CRIN workers, the
Federal Government through the office of
the Secretary to the Federal Government sometime around March 2014, set up a Presidential
penal of inquiry to investigate the root cause of crisis in CRIN and recommend
ways through which peace and orderliness could be restored in the institute.
Between
Wednesday 9th and 11th Friday, July, 2014, this committee
which used Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan,
as the venue of its operation received thousands of petitions from various
categories of CRIN workers and management staff. As a matter of fact, representatives of all
the existing trade unions in CRIN, sacked workers even members of the community
in which the instituted is situated made verbal presentation before the panel.
Unfortunately,
since that time till now, nothing has been heard in terms of recommendation or
report of the panel let alone the implementation. As a result of the continuous
delay of this recommendation Prof. Malacky Akoroda has been unduly emboldened
to the extent that no fewer than fifty apartments belonging to some of the
sacked workers who reside in the staff quarters within the institute have been sealed
up.
Right
now, CRIN has been turned to a banana republic where workers are arbitrarily
issued query for not greeting the “Almighty Executive Director”. Civil Defense
officers are permanently stationed in the institute to be intimidating workers.
Also, there have been instances where workers were reportedly slapped and
beaten by Civil defense corps. The height of this draconian measure is that
workers salaries are not regularly paid
As
an organization with age-long history of defending and advancing the democratic
right and aspiration of workers and all oppressed strata in the society, CDWR is
demanding the release and implementation of the report of the panel while
calling on Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), civil
society organizations and well meaning Nigerians to join CDWR, SPN and
Committee of Sacked CRIN workers in a joint struggle to ensure a total reversal
of all forms of draconian measure under
which workers in the institutes presently groan.
Abbey Trotsky
Coordinator
CDWR, Oyo State Chapter
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