Gabriel Dike
Following two days of strike by workers of four state-owned tertiary institutions in Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, agreed to pay the contentious new minimum wage from October.
Workers of Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Ijanikin and Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Epe on Monday and Tuesday embarked on industrial action to press home the payment of the new minimum wage.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Education, Tokunbo Wahab, said the governor’s gesture followed a meeting of stakeholders on the agitation for the implementation of the new minimum wage, yesterday.
Wahab said Governor Sanwo-Olu has affirmed his administration’s commitment to paying the new minimum wage/consequential adjustments to staff of state-owned tertiary institutions with effect from October 2020.
“Government, therefore, expects that normalcy is sustained as we collectively strive to ensure a guaranteed future for our students and the institutions,” Wahab said.
However, the ongoing industrial action in four tertiary institutions in Lagos State entered day two as the union leaders vowed to sustain the tempo of their action.
AOCOED Non Academic Staff Union (NASU), yesterday joined the strike while two other unions boycotted the action.
As early as 6.00am, NASU executives locked the main gate of the institution. The union’s action disrupted academic and administrative activities on campus.
Returning students and staff of AOCOED were stranded outside the gate as vehicle owners caught in the strike parked their cars in front of the gate and on the expressway.
Daily Sun gathered that the Provost, Bidemi Lafiaji-Okuneye, and her management team stayed away from the institution to avoid what happened on Monday to her counterpart at LASU and MOCPED.