As workers in the Oyo State civil service resume on Monday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)- Civil Society Situation Room has urged workers who are in doubt of their health status to stay at home, saying nobody will force any civil servant to come to work.
The state chairperson of the Situation Room and NLC Chairman ,Comrade Bayo Titilola-Sodo, disclosed this on Sunday in a communique made available to journalists in Ibadan.
Titilola-Sodo said the decision was part of the resolutions taken at the last meeting by members of the situation room.
“On resumption of all workers at the state secretariat, it has been agreed that there will be temperature check at the entrance of each ministry. The number of hand washing bowls would be increased. Not less than one at the entrance of each ministry with constant water supply and soap. Every worker will be supplied with two face masks. They will as much as possible maintain social distancing.
“We are however advising our members to take personal responsibility for their well-being and safety. If you are in doubt of your status, don’t go to work. Let your supervisor know that you won’t come to work on this particular day and that will be taken.No one will be punished for no coming to work. Nobody will be coerced to go to work,” the NLC chairman said.
He added: “On school resumption, my advice to the parents is to take COVID-19 guidelines seriously. I keep saying it; as at today, the total number of tests Nigeria has undertaken on COVID-19 is just 102,000 for a population of about 200 million people when we have the UK with a population of less than 100 million people doing over 170,000 tests in one day. Therefore,our data is not reliable. So we should take personal responsibility for our well-being and safety. We must take to the protocols and follow the protocols for our children.”
Titilayo-Sodo called on the state government to supply all the necessary items needed by by the workers to protect themselves and ensure that all inadequacies were covered.
It would be recalled that the national leadership of the NLC had launched the situation room to provide advisory services to governments in order to prevent pay-cuts and retrenchment of workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the comminique, the meeting had in attendance various leaders of the unions which form the Situation Room, including NLC, Nigerian Union of Teachers(NUT), Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria(MHWUN) among others.
