Some members of the Organised Labour in Ogun state, on Tuesday assaulted and inflicted injuries on journalists who were monitoring the compliance level of workers with the strike called by the Union in the state.
The members who were enforcing compliance with the strike were armed with canes and sticks which they freely used on the journalists and prevented them from performing their duties.
The journalists were attacked at the state general hospital, Ijaye in Abeokuta, the state capital were they gone to monitor the strike.
The journalists became the victims of the union leaders who ignored the Identity Cards displayed by the journalists and descended heavily on them.
The union members also attacked and physically assaulted female journalists who were part of the team that visited the hospital.
Those attacked included: Daud Olatunji of the Punch newspaper, Joke Adeleye of PM News, Michael Olaoluwa and Tutu Sobowale of PlatformTimes online newspaper and one Busola from an Abeokuta based radio station.
They also harassed hospital workers who were on emergency duty.
The leadership of the organised labour, comprising, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), had on Monday declared an indefinite strike over the refusal of the state government to pay their 21 months salary deductions and the insentivity of the government to workers’ welfare.
The strike followed the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum issued by the workers to governor Dapo Abiodun over his government’s inability to 21 months, non payment of eight years statutory leave allowances and breach of the State Pension Reform Law, 2006 (amended 2013) in the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme amongst other demands.
The NLC chairman, Emmanuel Bankole however denied the attacks on journalists, saying those who carried out the attack were not members of the union.
Meanwhile, students and teachers of public primary and secondary schools in the state were sent back home by labour union leaders.
When New Telegraph visited Anglican High School, Gateway Secondary School and African Church Grammar School, all in Abeokuta, students were asked to go back home.
The Chairman, Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state, Akeem Lasisi, said that there was total compliance to the strike.
“I have visited hospitals, schools local governments and the state secretariat.
“It is a total compliance because the strike was not declared by the leadership but by the parliament of workers in the state
“We carried the workers along and we did what they wanted. I only want to appeal to the government to please look into the demands and do the needful,” he said.