Workers in Osun State have declared a fresh strike barely 24 hours after the suspension of a previous two-month industrial action.
It was gathered that the labour leaders declared the strike after discovering that only 50 per cent of salaries were paid to Grade Level 8 and above workers.
It would be recalled the workers had suspended the strike after signing Memorandum of Understanding on Monday, detailing how they wanted their salaries to be paid.
As part of the agreement, January salary was expected to be paid on Tuesday and February on Thursday but they said that the state government paid half to some workers.
Making his announcement to that effect on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Osogbo, the State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Jacob Adekomi on Tuesday evening, told the workers not to resume as earlier directed.
But the state government appealed to workers, explaining that half payment was also paid to pensioners to make the available money go round.
The government in the statement on Monday said: "The attention of the State Government of Osun has been drawn to a growing discontent among workers in the state on the partial payment of salary to workers from Grade Level 08 and above. The Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, wishes to appeal for calm and understanding from all workers in the state.
"The Government wishes to state that it realised the need to accommodate our senior citizens, the pensioners, within the limited funds available in order to ensure an all-inclusive payment that will alleviate the hardship that the delay in salaries and pensions had caused. It should be noted that happiness never decreases by being shared.
Strong indications have emerged that workers of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, may soon close down the institution over unpaid allowance.
The workers, under the aegis of Non Academic Staff Union, OAU chapter, had started their protest with a warning strike penultimate Wednesday, alleging that they had not been paid their hazard allowances for 64 months.
When our correspondent visited the university's campus on Friday, hundreds of students, members of staff and visitors were seen trekking from the school gate to lecture theatres.
The aggrieved workers had shut the school gate and other facilities, including the university senate building and library.
The Chairman of the NASU, OAU Chapter, Comrade Wole Odewunmi, on Saturday insisted that if the protest did not yield the desired result, the workers would embark on a strike.
He said, "After this, if the management refuses to respond to our demand, we will notify the management of our strike action. This is just a notification ahead of our strike action.
"We met with the pro-chancellor but his response does not suite us. After I took the report of the meeting to our members, they decided that we should make our agitation known to the management and the public."
Odewunmi also accused the management of giving but refused pay them.
He said, "We are peace loving union among all the unions on campus. But this time around, the authorities want to term our gentility as stupidity and that was the reason we decided that we must protest. This is to enable the management know what is burning in our heart.
"For the past 64 months, we are owed hazard allowance and we have had several meetings that yielded no results. The two parties — government and management- keep pushing blames on one another.
"The school management are saying that they have not received any money but those at top positions are already enjoying some of those benefits but tagged it as responsibility allowance. They did not pay hazard allowance. How can they implement certain areas and leave the rest of the workers?"
Also, the President of the Students' Union, Mr. Omotayo Akande, during a symposium, had told students of the institution that the school might be closed on Monday.
He explained that the closure might be necessary due to plans by NASU to shut power and water supply to the university on Sunday (today).
The students had earlier embarked boycotted lectures for one week in solidarity with the aggrieved NASU workers.
http://www.punchng.com/news/strike-looms-in-oau-over-64-month-unpaid-allowances/
Over the centuries the English language has assimilated words and phrases from a variety of other languages. In context, those listed here are often printed in italics.
| ab initio | Latin from the beginning |
| a cappella | Italian sung without instrumental accompaniment (literally 'in chapel style') |
| à deux | French for or involving two people |
| ad hoc | Latin made or done for a particular purpose (literally 'to this') |
| ad infinitum | Latin endlessly; forever (literally 'to infinity') |
| ad interim | Latin for the meantime |
| ad nauseam | Latin to a tiresomely excessive degree (literally 'to sickness') |
| a fortiori | Latin more conclusively (literally 'from a stronger [argument]') |
| agent provocateur | French a person who tempts a suspected criminal to commit a crime so that they can be caught and convicted (literally 'provocative agent') |
| à huis clos | French in private (literally 'with closed doors') |
| al dente | Italian (of food) cooked so as to be still firm when bitten (literally 'to the tooth') |
| alfresco | Italian in the open air (literally 'in the fresh') |
| amour propre | French self-respect (literally 'own love') |
| annus mirabilis | Latin a remarkable or auspicious year |
| a posteriori | Latin based on reasoning from known facts or past events rather than on assumptions or predictions (literally 'from what comes after') |
| a priori | Latin based on deduction rather than experience (literally 'from what is before') |
| au courant | French well informed; up to date (literally 'in the (regular) course') |
| au fait | French having a good or detailed knowledge (literally 'to the point') |
| au fond | French basically; in essence (literally 'at the bottom') |
| au naturel | French in the most simple or natural way |
| beau geste | French a noble and generous act (literally 'fine gesture') |
| beau idéal | French the highest standard of excellence (literally 'ideal beauty') |
| beau monde | French fashionable society (literally 'fine world') |
| beaux arts | French the fine arts |
| bête noire | French a person or thing one particularly dislikes (literally 'black beast') |
| belles-lettres | French literary works written and read for their elegant style (literally 'fine letters') |
| billet-doux | French a love letter (literally 'sweet note') |
| blitzkrieg | German an intense, violent military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory (literally 'lightning war') |
| bona fide | Latin genuine; real (literally 'with good faith') |
| bon mot | French a clever or witty remark (literally 'good word') |
| bon vivant | French a person with a sociable and luxurious lifestyle (literally 'person living well') |
| brasserie | French an informal or inexpensive restaurant (literally 'brewery') |
| carpe diem | Latin make the most of the present time (literally 'seize the day!') |
| carte blanche | French complete freedom to act as one wishes (literally 'blank paper') |
| cause célèbre | French a controversial issue attracting much public attention (literally 'famous case') |
| caveat emptor | Latin the buyer is responsible for checking the quality of goods before purchasing them (literally 'let the buyer beware') |
| c'est la guerre | French used as an expression of resigned acceptance (literally 'that's war') |
| chacun à son gout | French everyone to their own taste |
| chef-d'œuvre | French a masterpiece (literally 'chief work') |
| cherchez la femme | French there is certain to be a woman at the bottom of a problem or mystery (literally 'look for the woman') |
| comme il faut | French correct in behaviour or etiquette (literally 'as is necessary') |
| compos mentis | Latin sane; in full control of one's mind |
| cognoscenti | Italian people who are well informed about something (literally 'people who know') |
| cordon sanitaire | French a guarded line placed around an area infected by disease to prevent anyone from leaving (literally 'sanitary line') |
| Cosa Nostra | Italian a US criminal organization related to the Mafia (literally 'our thing') |
| coup de foudre | French love at first sight (literally 'stroke of lightning') |
| coup de grâce | French a blow by which a mortally wounded person or thing is mercifully killed (literally 'stroke of grace') |
| coup de main | French a sudden surprise attack (literally 'stroke of hand') |
| coup d'état | French a sudden violent seizure of power (literally 'blow of state') |
| cri de cœur | French a passionate appeal or protest (literally 'cry from the heart') |
| cui bono? | Latin who stands to gain? (implying that whoever does may have been responsible for a crime; literally 'to whom (is it) a benefit?') |
| de facto | Latin in fact, whether by right or not |
| Dei gratia | Latin by the grace of God |
| déjà vu | French the sense of having experienced the present situation before (literally 'already seen') |
| de jure | Latin rightful; by right (literally 'of law') |
| de nos jours | French contemporary (literally 'of our days') |
| Deo gratias | Latin thanks be to God |
| Deo volente | Latin God willing |
| de profundis | Latin expressing one's deepest feelings (literally 'from the depths') |
| de rigueur | French obligatory; required by etiquette or current fashion (literally 'of strictness') |
| dernier cri | French the very latest fashion (literally 'the last cry') |
| de trop | French not wanted; superfluous (literally 'excessive') |
| deus ex machina | Latin an unexpected event that saves an apparently hopeless situation (literally 'god from the machinery') |
| dolce far niente | Italian pleasant idleness (literally 'sweet doing nothing') |
| dolce vita | Italian a life of pleasure and luxury (literally 'sweet life') |
| doppelgänger | German an apparition or double of a living person (literally 'double-goer') |
| double entendre | French a word or phrase with two possible interpretations (from obsolete French, 'double understanding') |
| dramatis personae | Latin the characters in a play (literally 'persons of the drama') |
| embarras de richesse | French more options or resources than one knows what to do with (literally 'embarrassment of riches') |
| éminence grise | French a person who has power or influence without holding an official position (literally 'grey eminence') |
| en famille | French with one's family; in an informal way (literally 'in family') |
| enfant terrible | French a person whose behaviour is unconventional or controversial (literally 'terrible child') |
| en masse | French all together (literally 'in a mass') |
| en passant | French by the way (literally 'in passing') |
| entente cordiale | French a friendly understanding between states |
| entre nous | French between ourselves |
| esprit de corps | French a feeling of pride and loyalty uniting the members of a group (literally 'spirit of body') |
| ex gratia | Latin (of payment) given as a favour rather than because of any legal obligation (literally 'from favour') |
| ex officio | Latin by virtue of one's position or status (literally 'out of duty') |
| fait accompli | French a thing that has been done or decided and cannot now be altered (literally 'accomplished fact') |
| faute de mieux | French for want of a better alternative |
| faux pas | French an embarrassing blunder or indiscretion (literally 'false step') |
| femme fatale | French a seductive woman (literally 'disastrous woman') |
| fête champêtre | French an outdoor entertainment; a garden party (literally 'rural festival') |
| fin de siècle | French relating to the end of a century |
| force majeure | French superior strength |
| folie de grandeur | French delusions of grandeur |
| gîte | French a small furnished holiday house in France |
| grande dame | French a woman who is influential within a particular sphere (literally 'grand lady') |
| haute couture | French the designing and making of clothes by leading fashion houses (literally 'high dressmaking') |
| haute cuisine | French high-quality cooking (literally 'high cookery') |
| haut monde | French fashionable society (literally 'high world') |
| hors de combat | French out of action due to injury or damage (literally 'out of the fight') |
| ideé fixe | French an obsession (literally 'fixed idea') |
| in absentia | Latin while not present (literally 'in absence') |
| in camera | Latin in private (literally 'in the chamber') |
| in extremis | Latin in an extremely difficult situation; at the point of death |
| in loco parentis | Latin in the place of a parent |
| in medias res | Latin in or into the middle of things |
| in propria persona | Latin: in his or her own person |
| in situ | Latin in the original or appropriate position |
| inter alia | Latin among other things |
| in toto | Latin as a whole |
| ipso facto | Latin by that very fact or act |
| je ne sais quoi | French a quality that is hard to describe (literally 'I do not know what') |
| jeu d'esprit | French a light-hearted display of wit (literally 'game of the mind') |
| jeunesse dorée | French wealthy, fashionable young people (literally 'gilded youth') |
| joie de vivre | French exuberant enjoyment of life (literally 'joy of living') |
| katzenjammer | German a hangover or a severe headache accompanying a hangover (literally 'cats' wailing') |
| laissez-faire | French a non-interventionist policy (literally 'allow to do') |
| locum tenens | Latin a temporary deputy or stand-in (literally 'one holding a place') |
| locus classicus | Latin the best known or most authoritative passage on a subject (literally 'classical place') |
| magnum opus | Latin the most important work of an artist, writer, etc. (literally 'great work') |
| manqué | French having failed to become what one might have been (frommanquer 'to lack') |
| mea culpa | Latin an acknowledgement that something is one's fault (literally 'by my fault') |
| memento mori | Latin something kept as a reminder that death is inevitable (literally 'remember (that you have) to die') |
| ménage à trois | French an arrangement in which a married couple and the lover of one of them live together (literally 'household of three') |
| modus operandi | Latin a way of doing something (literally 'way of operating') |
| modus vivendi | Latin an arrangement that allows conflicting parties to coexist peacefully (literally 'way of living') |
| mot juste | French the most appropriate word or expression |
| ne plus ultra | Latin the best example of something (literally 'not further beyond') |
| nil desperandum | Latin do not despair |
| noblesse oblige | French privilege entails responsibility |
| nolens volens | Latin whether one wants or likes something or not (literally 'not willing, willing') |
| non sequitur | Latin a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous statement (literally 'it does not follow') |
| nouveau riche | French people who have recently become rich and who display their wealth ostentatiously (literally 'new rich') |
| objet d'art | French a small decorative or artistic object |
| on dit | French a piece of gossip (literally 'they say') |
| papabile | Italian worthy or eligible to be elected pope |
| par excellence | French better or more than all others of the same kind (literally 'by excellence') |
| parti pris | French a preconceived view; a bias (literally 'side taken') |
| per annum | Latin for each year |
| per capita | Latin for each person (literally 'by heads') |
| per se | Latin by or in itself or themselves |
| persona non grata | Latin a person who is not welcome somewhere |
| pièce de résistance | French the most important or impressive item (literally 'piece (i.e. means) of resistance') |
| pied-à-terre | French a small flat or house kept for occasional use (literally 'foot to earth') |
| pis aller | French a last resort (literally 'worse to go') |
| plat du jour | French a special dish prepared by a restaurant on a particular day (literally 'dish of the day') |
| plus ça change | French used to express resigned acknowledgement of the fact that certain things never change (from plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose 'the more it changes, the more it stays the same') |
| pococurante | Italian careless or nonchalant (literally 'little caring') |
| prima facie | Latin accepted as so until proved otherwise (literally 'at first face') |
| primus inter pares | Latin the senior or representative member of a group (literally 'first among equals') |
| pro rata | Latin proportional; proportionally (literally 'according to the rate') |
| proxime accessit | Latin the person who comes second in an examination or is runner-up for an award (literally 'came very near') |
| quid pro quo | Latin a favour or advantage given in return for something (literally 'something for something') |
| raison d'être | French the most important reason for someone or something's existence (literally 'reason for being') |
| reductio ad absurdum | Latin a method of disproving a premise by showing that its logical conclusion is absurd (literally 'reduction to the absurd') |
| roman-à-clef | French a novel in which real people or events appear with invented names (literally 'novel with a key') |
| sangfroid | French the ability to stay calm in difficult circumstances (literally 'cold blood') |
| savoir faire | French the ability to act appropriately in social situations (literally 'know how to do') |
| sine die | Latin (of proceedings) adjourned indefinitely (literally 'without a day') |
| sine qua non | Latin a thing that is absolutely essential (literally 'without which not') |
| soi-disant | French self-styled; so-called (literally 'self-saying') |
| sotto voce | Italian in a quiet voice (literally 'under voice') |
| sub judice | Latin being considered by a court of law and therefore not to be publicly discussed elsewhere (literally 'under a judge') |
| sub rosa | Latin happening or done in secret (literally 'under the rose') |
| sui generis | Latin unique (literally 'of its own kind') |
| table d'hôte | French a restaurant meal offered at a fixed price, with few if any choices (literally 'host's table') |
| tant mieux | French so much the better |
| tant pis | French so much the worse; too bad |
| terra firma | Latin dry land; the ground (literally 'firm land') |
| terra incognita | Latin unknown territory |
| tête-à-tête | French a private conversation (literally 'head-to-head') |
| tour de force | French a thing accomplished with great skill (literally 'feat of strength') |
| tout de suite | French at once (literally 'quite in sequence') |
| unheimlich | German uncanny or weird |
| verboten | German forbidden |
| via media | Latin a compromise (literally 'middle way') |
| victor ludorum | Latin the overall champion in a sports competition (literally 'victor of the games') |
| vis-à-vis | French in relation to; as compared with (literally 'face-to-face') |
| vox populi | Latin public opinion (literally 'the voice of the people') |
| zeitgeist | German the characteristic spirit or mood of a particular historical period (literally 'time spirit') |
