Ondo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has approved the payment of N25,000 and N15,000 to workers and pensioners in the state respectively as wage award 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.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 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 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 award was resolved, once and for all.
The governor, who reiterated his administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare, said that the payment would commence from 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 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.
NAN 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. (NAN)
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