The Oyo State government has signed an agreement with the Nigeria Labour Congress of the state regarding the implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage payment.
This was disclosed after a meeting was held between the state’s delegation and the organized Labour on Wednesday, February 5, 2020.
Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun, the Secretary General of Oyo State (SSG), who led the committee on the state’s minimum wage, in a statement said;
“We have just signed an agreement and the highlight of the agreement signed is that the least paid worker in Oyo State will earn over N30,000 monthly, in agreement with the minimum wage signed at the federal level.
“We also agreed with our colleagues all on the table here on the consequential adjustment required as a result of that minimum wage, which has also been agreed and reached.
“We just reached a landmark point in the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde today. In the past few weeks, you would probably have been aware that we have been negotiating based on the agreement reached at the federal level on the minimum wage and the consequential adjustment for the workers in Oyo State.
“It has been a long process because we have had to look deeply into the books and all the factors required to ensure that even as we sign this agreement today, we get an agreement that is sustainable, agreeable and affordable for the Government and the people of Oyo State.
“So, I am happy to let all of us know that an agreement has been reached. It has been a lot of discussions, suggestions and innovative ideas on how we can move Oyo State to truly become the Pacesetter State that it is meant to be in the last few weeks.”
The organized Labour, on the other hand, expressed satisfaction in the progress which was made by the signing of the new agreement, which is to take effect from January 2020.
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According to the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Oyo State, Comrade Bayo Titilola-Sodo, the agreement entails the payment of N30,000 to the least paid worker in Oyo state and “the matter of consequential adjustment was agreed based on the financial strength of the State” the Nation reported.
Titilola-Sodo said;
“We all looked at the books and what our State was generating monthly. The least paid worker in the State will earn N30,000 but what we regard as consequential adjustments, we cannot follow the model from the Federal Government, because we had to cut our coats according to our sizes.”
“I will say that we finally arrived at an agreement after a series of meetings and collective bargaining. I will not say it is the best for the state but it is a good starting point, given the resources available to the state to the best of our knowledge.
“The implementation is immediate. The government has agreed to start the implementation even from January but it will be paid in full in February and the arrears for January will be paid with March salary.”
Regarding the possibility of the consequential adjustment causing discord amongst the workforce, Titilola-Sodo said:
“But we also agreed that we would be looking at the books regarding the earnings of the State. There is another meeting coming up in the next three months and it is our belief that the Government of Governor Makinde will not be like the Government of some people, who promised that we would have this kind of meeting but reneged.
“So far, Governor Makinde has not made a promise to us and failed, so this gives us the confidence that we will all sit together with the government in the next three months to look at the situation of things. We will ensure that the agreement is not in vain.”
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