Probe Governor Rauf Aregbesola over his Failure to pay Workers’ Salaries - Democratic Socialist Movement.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola

The Osun State chapter of the Democratic Socialist Movement, a pro-labour organisation, has called for the probe of Governor Rauf Aregbesola over his failure to pay workers’ salaries.

The group, in a statement by its state coordinator, Alfred Adegoke, and state secretary, Kola Ibrahim, said the call became necessary to know how Aregbesola used or misused the public funds.

DSM suggested that members of the probe panel should include representatives of workers’ unions, pensioners’ union and students’ movement.

 It also called for “mass actions like protests, rallies, pickets and press campaign, among others to back up the ongoing strike by workers in the state.”

The group, however, condemned the recent payment of December 2014 salary to workers in the state out of the seven months Aregbesola owed them.

The statement read, “We call on Aregbesola to begin the full payment of all salaries and allowances of workers, and pensions and gratuities of pensioners. We find the excuse of lack of fund as mere smokescreen.

“The recent announcement by the government that it will cut salaries of political appointees by 50 per cent confirms our position that one of the means by which state resources is being wasted is through jumbo salaries and allowances for political appointees.

“We maintain our demand that political appointees, being part-time officials, should be on same salary scale with workers.”

Meanwhile, labour unions in the state warned the governor against plan to slash workers’ salaries by 50 per cent.

The Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Mr. Jacob Adekomi, who led other labour leaders to address journalists on Friday, said the decision would lead to an unimaginable chaos if it was not rescinded.

The workers said although the state government had not written to inform them officially about the pay cut, but they said failure to stop the plan would be met with stiff opposition.

According to him, the state government has concluded plans to start paying workers the new rate starting from the salary of January 2015.