Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has approved the payment of N25,000 for workers and N15,000 for pensioners, as wage awards in the state.
The governor said the payment, to take effect from October, 2023, would be for six months, at an additional cost of N2.2 billion to the wage bill of the state, laying to rest months of speculations and fear of breach of industrial harmony between the government and the workforce.
Makinde made the disclosure in company of labour leaders, including Comrade Kayode Martins of the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC); Comrade Bosun Olabiyi, Trade Union Congress (TUC); and Comrade Olaonipekun Oluwaseun, JNC Public Sector, while addressing the workers at the entrance of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan.
Before announcing the figure, Governor Makinde appealed to the workers to show understanding with the state, noting that many other people in the state were also passing through the hardship occasioned by the current economic situation, and other sectors were also begging for attention despite the meagre resources of the state.
Makinde said: “What I said to the workers earlier was that we all understand that it’s a challenging period for us as a nation and as a state you have to look at your pocket, and see what we can do and for the wage award. We will give the pensioners N15,000 monthly for the next six months, starting from October for them. They also asked that it should start from September, but I don’t know if we have enough money.
“And for workers, we are doing N25,000 to cushion the effect of economic challenges that we are all facing. I said to them that this is not a case of the labour against the government, or the government against the labour, we are all in this together and we have to pull together to be able to go through the situation that we find ourselves in,” the Governor disclosed.
He promised that everyone would soon begin to receive the alert of the payment and have the wage award on or before the end of the week, noting that although the cost implications of the wage bill would be tough on the state, it is worth doing in the interest of the workers.
“Well, it is not convenient for the state. It is our reality but, we have the SAfER package for the generality of the state. For the workers also, we have to find a way of keeping things going. It will squeeze us further but government exists to look after the welfare of its workforce and the people of the state,” he declared.
Reacting, Comrade Kayode Martins (NLC) and Comrade Bosun Olabiyi (TUC) both said the announcement by the governor had laid the entire negotiation processes to rest.
Martins stated:“We appreciate God that our members were there when the governor made the pronouncements and everybody agreed to it. The negotiation has ended. It wasn’t that we agreed with the government behind them. The governor spoke to the people, addressed them and told them what he can do and that put the whole matter to rest. What else are we suppose to do?
“We looked at it, if we juxtaposed it with other states and what others are doing, including what the Federal Government is doing, we think it’s something that we can hold on to while we continue to push for other things. There are still other issues there that have to do with several other affiliates and we have to push for that too. The discussion has ended and the negotiation is over,” Olabiyi affirmed.
The workers had earlier, on Monday, stormed the State Government Secretariat, shortly after a congress was held at the Labour House, American Quarters, Agodi, Ibadan.
They took the decision to ensure the issue is resolved once and for all, as many workers had expected the declaration of an indefinite strike at the congress.
However, the workers, expressing disappointment in the leadership of the labour force, insisted that they march to the State Secretariat to see the governor in person.
The workers who assembled at the entrance to the Governor’s Office waited for hours singing solidarity songs while the labour leaders went into a last-minute discussion with the government team.
The arrival of the Governor to the Office raised the hope of the workers as they welcomed him with singing and dancing.
