Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Edo State says reforms being implemented by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration to transform the state’s civil service are responsible for the industrial harmony enjoyed in the state and have endeared the governor more to workers.
Edo State chairman of the NLC, Sonny Osayande, said this in an interview in Benin City, the state capital.
The governor has done creditably well for the organized labour in the state, he said, noting that the edifice being developed for the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and NLC by the state government on Ikpoba Slope, Benin City, is a demonstration of the commitment of the governor to the cause of the organized labour in the state.
The governor has assured the labour unions of his commitment to complete the construction of the edifice before the end of the year, he said, adding, “The construction of the building which the governor started after assuming office is going on fine. It is now at roofing level.”
On the John Odigie-Oyegun Institute of Public Administration, which is 95 percent complete, Osayande said, “It is not out of place that the Training Institute is named after the first civilian governor of the state.”
Members of the organized labour are excited that the construction of the Institute as promised by the governor will change the work culture in the state’s civil service and enable civil servants acquire more skills in the deployment of ICT for their work.
On pension reforms, the NLC chairman said after the governor convinced members of the organized labour to embrace the new contributory pension scheme managed by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), he has remained committed to remitting the state government’s contribution to the PFAs.
He said, “We thought the governor would not be sincere on his part, like other state governors who deduct contributions from the civil servants without remitting the state government’s contribution to the Fund.
“In other states, governors short-change workers unlike in Edo State where Governor Obaseki remits the 10 percent government contribution regularly. The minute he does that, we get text messages notifying us of the state government’s contribution which will benefit civil servants in the future.”
