Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun says his administration inherited a N106.9 billion welfare death from the previous administration, making it difficult for his government to meet the demand of the new minimum wage.
The new minimum wage would cost the state N32.5 billion to implement, he said.
- Ogun workers begin strike as minimum wage talks fail
- Ogun Strike : Govt threatens ‘no work, no pay’ as workers refused to back down
Implementing the new wage will increase the monthly wage bill by N1.04b; an immediate payment of 3 – year arrears of leave bonus, amounting to approximately N9.2b; while on payment of 3 – year gratuity as demanded by labour is approximately N24b as well as additional payment of about N1.2b for the underpayment by the last Administration to some categories of retired personnel.
Workers went on strike on Wednesday over minimum wage, unpaid contributory Pension Scheme, totalling 134 months deducted from workers and unremitted; non promotion of staff since 2018 and unpaid leave allowances to all employees, both of the State and of the Local Governments since 2015.
The governor expressed surprise that the strike was declared at a point when the government and the labour leaders were approaching an amicable resolution on the demands.
According to him, the Labour leaders took excuse to attend to their members in order to conclude the negotiation, only to proceed to declare the meeting deadlock and announced the commencement of warning strike the next day.
He described the “abrupt withdrawal of the labour team and unilateral declaration of one-week strike” as unfair, indecorous and violation of the principles of collective bargaining.
The governor, however, called on the representative of the Organised Labour in the State, to return to the negotiation table to finalise the grey areas of the demand for better welfare for the workers and in the interest of the generality of the people of the State.
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