Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Monday promised to pay N25,000 to workers and N15,000 to pensioners as wage awards to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.
Addressing the workers during a solidarity rally held at the state secretariat in Ibadan, Makinde said the payment would be for six months.
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The workers had stormed the governor’s office as part of the decision taken during their congress on Monday to ensure the issue was resolved once and for all.
The governor, who was in the company of labour leaders, including Kayode Martins (NLC), Bosun Olabiyi (TUC), Olaonipekun Oluwaseun (JNC Public Sector), said this would be “an additional N2.2 billion to the wage bill of the state.
According to him, the N2.2 billion would have a direct impact on the state’s finances. He said “We are determined to make this promise to the workers come to fruition, the payment will start from October and will be sustained for the next six months.
It would be recalled that the governor had four weeks ago inaugurated an 11-member ad-hoc inter-ministerial committee on the harmonisation of the demands of labour unions in the state.
The governor charged members of the committee to be open-minded and to come up with homegrown solutions on issues bordering on workers’ welfare in the state.
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Makinde also tasked the committee, headed by the secretary to the state government (SSG), Olanike Adeyemo to come up with a report on the modalities for the implementation of workers’ demands.
