The Oyo State Government has set-up a committee to review the minimum wage in the state in line with present realities in the country, following fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government.
The committee was set up, on Monday, during a meeting to review worker’s minimum wage, held at the Executive Council Chambers of the Governor’s Office in Ibadan.
The meeting was presided over by Governor Seyi Makinde, who called on labour leaders to show understanding with the peculiarity of events in the state.
The labour unions were led to the meeting by their state chairmen, Comrade Kayode Martins of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Comrade Bosun Olabiyi of the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
At the meeting, Governor Makinde applauded the unions for their support and commitment which enabled his second term in office, saying there is no trust deficit between the government and labour leaders in the state.
He added that whatever is happening at the national level would not create any trust deficit at the state level.
He noted that the state government may not have control over the issue of fuel subsidy removal at the national level but it could control how to run the state, giving the example of how the state managed during the Covid-19 crisis
Makinde stated: “Yes, the fuel subsidy removal is going to affect all of us, but we do have control over certain things in Oyo State and one of it is to be proactive to engage ourselves. They may call for strike at the national level or even any other actions,’’
“The labour leaders in Oyo State must be aware of our own situations and they must consider the peculiarity of the situation. They must appreciate the fact that our economy is so fragile.”
Comrade Kayode Martins of the NLC disclosed that the meeting was called to review the salary of workers in the state, saying the labour leaders however used the opportunity of the meeting to talk about some other issues and challenges the workers in the state are faced with.
Martins noted: “On the ground, but could not due to other exigencies, assuring that things would take better shape with the new administration.
He stated: “Today’s meeting is to reach agreement on ground and we want to enter into a collective bargaining as to what will be the minimum wage in Oyo State. We want to be different from others and we want to be ahead and we want to review the agreement we had before subject to some factors, especially our resources.”
The committee comprises selected government and labour officials. The government team include: the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Secretary the State Government (SSG), state Head of Service, Special Adviser (Labour Matters), commissioners and permanent secretaries, among others.
The team from the side of the organised labour include: Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joint Negotiation Council (JNC), Nigeria Union of Local Government Workers (NULGE), Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) and Chairman, Association of Senior Staff Union, among others.
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