Ogun workers begin strike as minimum wage talks fail

Workers in Ogun state begin a week of warning strike on Wednesday after negotiations with the government ended in deadlock on Tuesday.

They are demanding the state government implement the new minimum wage.

A previous ultimatum on the government to implement the new wage ended on Tuesday.

Labour and government officials were in talks for hours at the Governor’s Office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, where the government insisted implementing the new minimum wage would be delayed until the state was financially buoyant, Daily Trust learnt.

In the aftermath, labour leaders addressed a crowd of workers at Arcade Ground, with the State Secretariat.

Chairman of Nigerian Labour Congress in Ogun, Emmanuel Bankole called the government stance “untenable and unacceptable.”

The union equally expressed worry over what it called dysfunctional 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.

“We are talking about gratuities that have not been paid for years, we are talking about leave allowance that has not been paid for years, we are talking about retirees that were shortchanged and not been paid. Since 2018 promotion has not been done in Ogun State. These are the issues that we brought to the table and all attempts to get them to reason failed and so we are embarking on the warning strike.

“The position of the government is unacceptable to us. What they said was that minimum wage will have to be delayed so that they can do certain things and we said no, enough is enough haven waited for so long.

“With the facts before is, Ogun state is not the poorest in Southwest. If Lagos is paying and has continue to pay even with, Ondo state is paying and continue to pay, Oyo State is paying even with , there is no reason for Ogun State not to pay.

“And so we are saying no, all their excuses are unacceptable to us.”

Reacting, the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Public Affairs, Remmy Hazzan expressed over the warning strike, saying it was not the reflection of what transpired at the meeting.

Hazzan admitted that the organised labour has legitimate demands, but the financial status of the state makes it incapable to implement the minimum wage.

He, however, said the government would continue to engage the workers in order to resolve the issue to avoid plunging the state into industrial disharmony.