Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Workers at the Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission yesterday put their Secretariat located in the state capital on lockdown over unpaid salaries.
The aggrieved workers were also protesting illegal deductions and arbitrary slash in their salaries.
Brandishing placards of various inscriptions to press home their grievances, the workers who lamented that they have exhausted all available channels of redress and mediation to no avail, downed their tools while not allowing anybody into the secretariat.
Not even the Directors of the agency were allowed into the Secretariat.
In an emotion laden address, ISOPADEC union chairman, Chinedu Awuzie said that the government and the agency’s management have failed to listen to their demands.
He said, “Government unlawfully took over the payment of our salaries, slashing same down to a paltry 20% which has subjected the oil workers to untold hardship and avoidable deaths.
“The law that established ISOPADEC did not make them part of Imo Civil Service, to the effect that ISOPADEC workers are not pensionable, and therefore the government’s decision to pay them as such is questionable.”
Responding, the MD, Charles Orie, said the problems enumerated by the workers predated his appointment as the Chairman of the agency.
He assured that the grievances would be addressed in due course.
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