Oyo Workers to Embark on Sit-at-home If Govt Fails to Accede to N35,000 Demand

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan 

Workers in Oyo State have resolved to embark on a sit-at-home protest if by the end of October, the state government fails to accede to their demands on wage award of N35,000 for workers and N25,000 for pensioners.

The workers, in resolutions after a congress held at the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Oyo State Secretariat, Ikolaba, Ibadan, Monday, said the wage award is in line with the Federal Government’s economic relief package for workers to cushion the effect of economic hardship caused by the fuel subsidy removal.

The leadership of the workers had earlier briefed the workers on the activities of the committee set up by the state government to fashion out a suitable arrangement for the wage award before reaching resolutions based on recommendations from workers.

The Oyo NLC Chairman, Comrade Kayode Martins, while speaking with journalists after the congress, pledged to pursue the resolutions of the congress to its logical conclusion until the state government aligns with their demands.

According to him, “Today’s congress was solely called on wage award issue. It has been lingering all the while and workers in the state are fed up, even the pensioners. We have been having series of meetings like we told the governor when the ad hoc committee was inaugurated that people are fed up already.

“Since May 29, this year, nothing has been done, and we have been having meetings upon meetings and the workers have decided today that we are standing on the agreement made between the Federal Government, Governors Forum and labour leaders at the national level and that at the end of the month, if the wage award of N35,000 for workers, N25,000 for pensioners is not implemented, workers should stay at home.

“That is what our people bought into, and we declared, we are going to send the notice to the government and all the stakeholders as well in a couple of minutes. With what is on ground in Oyo State, I am appealing to the state government as a pace detter state it should add to the money and not deduct from it. This is time for us to have our pay back even beyond N35,000; N25,000.

“The Excellency has been a man for the workers and the pensioners. He is our own man, like we said during the electioneering that his second term in office is our project and we were able to deliver and this is pay back time for us the workers and pensioners in the state. So, hopefully we are believing God for something beyond N35,000 and N25,000 from him.

“If at the end of this month nothing is done, we’re staying at home, we’re the mouthpiece of our people and our people have spoken and we are just there to speak their minds and we’re going to deliver their resolutions to the appropriate quarters.”

The Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Oyo State chapter, Comrade Segun Abatan, in his own remarks,  explained that though Governor Seyi Makinde has proven to show empathy with workers’ welfare but he must be wary of wrong advices which might pit him against the workforce.

Abatan said: “I want to state that the congress of the pensioners was organised on the same issue last week Thursday but this is the mother and father of all congresses as far as Oyo State is concerned. Whatever is said here is binding on us, so the NUP is fully in support of all the decisions taken at this congress here today, so there is no going back on it.

“Workers can stay at home if something is not done for them, but pensioners have said that liberty to come out and demonstrate and that is what is going to happen if what we demanded for does not happen.

“During the electioneering period, all the governorship candidates will go all out to campaign and promised us Eldorado but immediately they get there, they would renege. Though Governor Makinde has done so well in his first tenure but we want to advise him to do better in this 2.0 regime.

“He should not listen to ‘misadvisers’ because I will not call them special advisers. He should shun negative advice if he does not want his administration to be disrespectful. What is on ground now has diminished the image of this administration. I want him to redeem that image by doing the needful for workers and the pensioners in the state.”

The Vice-Chairman, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Ranti Oluwemimo, on his part said TUC is in solidarity with the resolutions of the NLC and would equally mobilize its members to also comply.

“NLC and TUC are inseparable twins, we have the same decision, our workers are here and I have a strong belief that our governor is a listening governor and I am so optimistic that he is going to listen to us on our demands and do something that is very good and he will even surprise us with better response,” Oluwemimo said.