According to many of the workers, efforts to convince top management staff members of the commission to pay the gratuity of its retired workers proved void.
Workers of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, OSOPADEC, on Monday blocked the entrance to their office to protest against ‘unfair treatment’ meted on them by top management staff of the Commission.
The workers, in the hundreds, blocked and locked the gate leading to the commission’s office, in Oba Ile, a suburb of Akure, to prevent movement into the premises. Protestors chanted solidarity songs for several hours.
They also called some top management staff members of the commission unprintable names, with placards bearing different inscriptions directing their protest to the governor of the state.
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Some of the placards said: “Mr. Governor save us from the hands of autocratic dictators”, “Mr. Governor help us to remove the madness in the leadership of the commission”, “The leadership of OSOPADEC has failed us”, and “[Governor] Mimiko save us from tough working environments.”
A SaharaReporters correspondent gathered that the workers also barred Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Johnson Wole Ogunyemi, from gaining access into the premises with his vehicles, which were seized till the protest ended.
The aggrieved workers stated their gripe is against the “wicked, heartless, and insensitive manner of the management of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, led Mr. Ogunyemi."
Apart from the unfair treatment, the workers further said they were protesting over the refusal of the management of the Commission to pay the gratuity and pension arrears of their colleagues, who had served meritoriously in the commission.
Our correspondent gathered that failure to pay the pension and gratuity of the workers led to the death of their retired colleague, Mr. Jerom Olorunmola, who died last week Friday because he could not foot his medical bills and feed his family.
SaharaReporters can authoritatively report that Mr. Jerom served the commission from 2001 before he retired in May 2003, and was denied of his pay until his death.
According to many of the workers, efforts to convince top management staff members of the commission to pay the gratuity of its retired workers proved void.
The spokesperson of the protesting workers, Magi Kimikiyo under the banner of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Technical and Recreational Employees, AUPCTRE, said the act of the management toward the plight of workers in the commission is unfair.
“We have seen and talked with the management of the commission on different occasions and we expressed our displeasure over the situation. On several occasions, we pleaded with them on the need to ensure that the gratuity and pension of this man [Jerom] was paid. But they wouldn’t listen. Even as I speak with you, nothing has since been done," he said.
He also revealed that apart from late Jerom, two other workers were denied of their emolument and begged the state government to urgently intervene in the matter. ”Apart from Jerom, who ought to be on the payroll system of the commission, there is also Mr. Omoyele Goodluck, who died in the year 2010. Since his death, nothing has been given to his family. Also Ranti Omosuyi, who worked in the commission between 2001 till 2006, unfortunately nothing was done for him."
Kimikiyo added that the workers have been enduring the intimidation and unbearable conditions for a long period, but they will continue to fight for fair and honest treatment. “The message we are passing is very simple. We want this madness to stop with immediate effect," he said.
A clerical staff member of the commission, who confided in SaharaReporters, hinted that both senior and the junior staff workers in the commission’s office had no good chairs and tables to sit, and neither adequate nor good computer systems to work.
The clerical staff added that a new building recently commissioned by Governor Mimiko for the OSOPADEC in Akure was inaccessible to the workers. “The building is suppose to be a blessing but rather is a curse and is currently being occupied by only the top center management. This same management has created the highest order of decadence. We are appealing to Mr. Governor, who is the best friend of the Chairman, to call him to order."
Other workers who spoke told our correspondent that the leadership has threatened to "openly deal" with any members of the staff who would dare expose the rot currently bedeviling the commission.
When contacted, the Chairman of the Commission, Ogunyemi, said he was not aware of the aggrieved workers complaints, adding that issue of such nature should not be made public but rather handled through an internal arrangement.
Ogunyemi also refused to deny allegations of threats made against the workers.