Ondo revenue agency workers protest alleged exclusion from new minimum wage scheme

Workers of the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service (ODIRS) have led a protest to demand their inclusion in the state’s newly announced minimum wage scheme.

The protest, led by junior staff, took place along the busy Igbatoro road in Akure, the state capital, on Thursday.

The workers expressed frustration over their alleged exclusion from the recently implemented N73,000 minimum wage for civil servants, a scheme announced by Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the state governor, in November.

They also lamented the disparity between the “lavish” pay packages of senior executives and the “meager” wages received by the junior staff.

Protesters carried placards with slogans such as: “ODIRS deserves new minimum wage,” “we moved IGR from N700 million to N41.5 billion,” “we deserve good salary structure,” and “okada riders are better than us”.

According to the workers, they have raised their concerns with ODIRS management but claim their grievances have gone unanswered.

They accused the management of insensitivity and called on the state government to address their demands.

‘A MINOR ISSUE’

Speaking about the protest, Bola Taiwo, special adviser to Aiyedatiwa on union matters, dismissed the protest as a “minor issue”.

He said that all core civil servants, including local government employees, parliamentary staff, and political appointees, had received their salaries in line with the new minimum wage.

“This protest is a minor issue because all core civil servants, including local government employees, parliamentary staff, and political appointees, have received their salaries,” he said.

“We asked for their demands, but they provided none. We are unsure of the protest’s motivation.

“Normally, they should have submitted a formal letter of demand to the government.

“The governor who is currently in Abuja called some few minutes ago, instructing us not to force them out but to allow them to protest.

“The minimum wage approval will be signed within the next 30 minutes. There is no salary problem in Ondo State. If they have unresolved issues with their management, they need to present their demands formally.”