Arrears: Oyo state to pay 2 months workers salary
(Nigeria) Workers and pensioners in the civil service of Oyo State
will receive January and February 2016 arrears of salaries and pensions within
the next two weeks in a staggered arrangement.
While January salaries and pensions will be paid immediately
from the available N3.49bn in the state coffers, the February salaries and
pension will follow within the next two weeks on the receipt of the next
allocation from the Federation Account.
This was the highlight of the agreement reached between the
state government and labour leaders culminating in the suspension of the over
seven-week-old strike by the workforce.
The agreement was reached by Secretary to the State
Government, Mr. Olalekan Alli; Head of Service, Mr. Soji Eniade; Commissioner
for Finance and Budget, Mr. Abimbola Adekanmbi, among others on the side of the
government.
The state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Waheed Olojede; State President of the Nigeria
Union of Local Government Employees, Bayo Titilola-Sodo; State Secretary of the
Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Olusegun Abatan, were among labour leaders that
endorsed the agreement.
The state 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.
The agreement reads in part, “That the total amount received
from the Federation Account in the month of June was N2.1bn; and additional
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.
Addressing journalists on the outcome of the joint
committee’s parley, the SSG called on the workers to consider the suspended
labour unrest a lesson for all on the imperativeness of dialogue to resolve
disagreements.
Alli said, “Labour has given its firm assurance to work with
government to further expand the revenue net of the state.
“From the various lessons learnt in the process of this
industrial action, it is believed that with the transparency and openness of
government and the understanding of labour, a recurrence of the situation would
be avoided.”
The SSG called on the students, teachers and school
administrators to go back to school for immediate resumption of academic works,
while he made similar call on civil servants and local government employees.
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