Oyo workers suspend strike as govt agrees to pay Jan, Feb salaries

Workers in Oyo state have suspended their seven-week old strike following the agreement of government to pay January and February arrears of their salaries.

The agreement was reached at the end of a meeting between the state government and labour leaders.

Olalekan Alli, secretary to the state government; Soji Eniade, head of service; and Abimbola Adekanmbi, commissioner for finance and budget, among others represented government at the meeting.

While Waheed Olojede, chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Oyo; Bayo Titiola-Sodo, state president of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), and Olusegun Abatan, state secretary of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, were among the labour leaders in attendance.

The government also agreed to prevail on banks to grant workers with loan obligations a moratorium of two months on their January and February salaries and pensions.

“That the total amount received from the federation account in the month of June was N2.1bn; and additional,” the agreement read.

“N1.39bn, being the first tranche of the budget support facility received from the federal government.

“This brings the total available sum to N3.49bn in the government coffers that could immediately be utilized for payment of salaries, wages and pensions of the state workforce for the month of January.

“That salaries and pensions for two months be paid within two weeks (of the agreement) on the receipt by the state of her share of federal allocation accordingly. That there would be the need for sacrifice from both sides resulting in adjustments of the state’s obligations and entitlements to various stakeholders in order to realize this payment.

“That the same principle will be applicable to the payment of salary and pensions for February based on expectations that the next allocation from the federation account and budget support facility would be of the same value.”

The agreement also called for a formal letter of apology from principals, teachers and pupils of secondary schools engaged in the breach of peace and destruction of government properties, which the SSG said had already been tendered to the government.

On its part, the government agreed to withdraw all outstanding litigations against labour, while it was also mutually resolved that no worker would be victimized for participating in the industrial action.

The 14-member joint committee, inaugurated on July 12 arising from the June 6 industrial action, also reached a consensus that a further biometric audit of all public service workers and pensioners across the state be carried out as expedient.

The government challenged labour to partner it in seeking alternative sources of revenue to meet its obligations to the workforce in the face of the dwindling allocations from the Federation Account, as well as to plug leakages within the system.