Wage award: Makinde approves N25,000 for Oyo workers, N15,000 for pensioners

Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has approved the payment of N25,000 and N15,000 to workers and pensioners in the state, respectively, as wage awards to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.

Makinde announced the wage award while addressing workers who stormed the governor’s office on Monday in Ibadan to protest the non-payment of the money by the state government.

Supreme News reports that the workers were led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman in the state, Mr. Kayode Martins, his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Mr. Bosun Olabiyi, and Mr. Olaonipekun Oluwaseun of the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC).

They had stormed the Governor’s Office following a decision taken by the unions at a congress held on Monday to ensure that the issue of wage awards was resolved once and for all.

The governor, who reiterated his administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare, said that the payment would commence in October and be paid for six months, when a sustainable salary package for workers would have been determined.

Makinde, who admitted the fact that there was economic hardship in the country, however, said that the wage award would increase the state’s wage bill by N2.2 billion.

He called on the protesting workers to partner with the government in its quest to improve the state’s internally generated revenue.

The labour leaders, Kayode Martins (NLC) and Bosun Olabiyi (TUC), in their remarks, said that the approval of the wage award by the governor had brought the workers’ agitation to an end.

They, however, said that they remained committed to pursuing the other demands and agitations of their members.

Supreme News reports that the governor had, last month, constituted an 11-member ad-hoc inter-ministerial committee on the harmonisation of the demands of the labour unions in the state.

The committee, chaired by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Olanike Adeyemo, was charged with the responsibility of coming up with homegrown solutions to issues bordering on workers’ welfare in the state.