Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan, with agency report
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, yesterday met with leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over the welfare of workers.
The union Chairman, Bayo Titilola-Sodo, who led other members of the executive to the governor’s office, said the visit was to present issues pertaining to the welfare of the workers to the governor.
“Various issues that have to do with the welfare of workers in the state were tabled before the governor.
“Issues such as minimum wage, prompt payment of workers’ salaries and emoluments, outstanding promotion arrears of workers and cases of retirees who have been unfairly treated in the past among others were presented.
“We have acknowledged some steps taken by the governor to address some of these issues such as prompt payment of salaries from the inception of Makinde administration.
“Retirees no longer take their pension and allowance in fractions of 20 or 30 percent but collect full payment, however we still have some other demands and the governor has promised to look into it,” he said.
Titilola-Sodo described the cordiality between labour and the governor as unprecedented and expressed the hope that it would be sustained.
Also, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Taiwo Adisa, said the administration would look into the demands of the union.
Adisa said the state government since inception had prioritised prompt payment of salaries of its workforce by ensuring workers get their salary by 25th of every month.
On the minimum wage, he said government would meet with the leadership of the labour union immediately the Federal Government resolved the issue with the NLC national body.
He assured all workers and pensioners of better welfare, saying government would not deny them their benefits.
Meanwhile, the state government and World Bank have renewed their agreement on the completion of the bank’s assisted projects and initiation of new ones for overall development of the state.
Governor Makinde, and Lead Social Protection Specialist in the World Bank Office, Prof. Foluso Okunmadewa, in Nigeria, disclosed this in separate interviews with newsmen after a meeting between the government and the bank, at the Executive Council Chambers of the Governor’s Office, Ibadan.
Makinde said the state was ready to cooperate with whatever assistance the World Bank and other organisations would offer to check poverty.
“The people of Oyo State should know that whatever we have in terms of assistance from the World Bank and other agencies is going to be channelled properly towards our mission, which is to tackle poverty headlong in Oyo State.”
Okunmadewa, who led the bank’s team to the meeting with the state government, also told journalists that the meeting was requested by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) that the World Bank team in Nigeria should hold meetings with state governors, particularly the new ones, so that there could be agreements on execution of the World Bank assisted projects.