A trending post on social media by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, says the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Joe Ajaero, has been released by the Police.
But the good news ends there. Falana says he was brutalised by the Police and has been hospitalised.
His post on the social media platform reads: “We have secured Comrade Ajero’s release. But he is in the hospital as he was brutalised by the police.”
Last Sunday before the NLC protest of Wednesday, Ajaero accused the Imo State Government of “violating the rights of the Nigerian workers in the state” adding that Governor Hope Uzodimma has neglected workers’ welfare, causing many workersto die because of the alleged lack of payment of their salaries.
He outlined some of the infractions against workers by Uzodimma, including the alleged refusal to implement previous agreements especially the accord reached on January 9, 2021, outstanding salary arrears of about 20 months, unjust declaration of workers as ghost workers, declaration of pensioners as ghost workers and unsettled gratuity arrears, among others.
According to him, approximately 10,000 pensioners have been wrongly labelled as ghost pensioners resulting in over 22 months of unpaid pensions while about 11,000 workers have been branded by the Imo State Government as ghost workers.
The NLC president also lamented the non-compliance with the national minimum wage by the state government, adding that Governor Uzodinma has resisted the use of social dialogue and collective bargaining to resolve the issues.