The Nigerian Labour Congress, Imo State chapter, has pulled out from the plan of the Labour union to occupy Imo State from Wednesday.
The state Acting Chairman of NLC, Rev. Philip Nwansi, made this known while speaking with newsmen in Owerri, the state capital, after meeting with other Labour leaders in the state.
He said organised Labour in Imo would not be part of the planned action because of a subsisting court order stopping the NLC from embarking on any such action.
The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Imo State chapter, has cautioned the Ajaero-led NLC against any strike in the state, saying “Occupy Imo is politically- motivated.
The Industrial Court sitting in Owerri on October 27 granted an order restraining the NLC from embarking on any industrial action in Imo State.
The NLC chairman said based on the court order, the planned strike code- named: ‘Occupy Imo’ had become illegal.
“All the affiliate unions, we are obeying the court order and we urge Imo workers to be at their duty posts tomorrow as law- abiding citizens,” Nwansi said.
He said besides the court order, the organised Labour in Imo State did not see any reason the national body should order a strike.
“Imo State workers say no to ‘Occupy Imo’ because we have not found reasons enough for the action,” he said.
Nwansi noted that Labour in Imo State had a cordial relationship with the state government and wondered why the national body should cry more than the bereaved.
He said since the Labour had no industrial dispute with the state government and since the court had declared the planned strike illegal, workers should go about their duties.
CAN Imo State chapter called on the NLC leadership to shelve the idea of occupying Imo State in the name of a strike because of the negative impact it would have on the people.
It said it was unthinkable for Labour leaders to contemplate strike in Imo or any other part of the country now because of what the people are passing through.
CAN Chairman, Rev. Eches Divine Eches, gave the advice when speaking with journalists during a call on Governor Hope Uzodimma at the Government House Owerri, by the group.
Eches, who said CAN had come to reaffirmed its position on the Imo Charter of Equity as the way to go in guaranteeing political stability in Imo, commended the governor on the landmark achievements he had recorded in the state since being in the saddle.
