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…Says indices show workers deserve better pay
By Bimbola Oyesola
The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRaman AbdulRazaq, has assured workers that the state would pay the new minimum wage after completion of negotiation at the federal level, saying that, “inflation has truly eaten deep into your wages and welfare packages.”
Speaking in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital during the conferment of a honorary Fellowship of the National Labour Institute (FNLS) award on him,
for his workers’ friendly policies and programmes, Governor AbdulRazaq said the APC government under the President-elect (Asiwaju Tinubu) is serious about his plans for the workers.
“So, it is time for you to brace up and organize yourself because we will definitely make a case for the new minimum wage.
“And we are lucky to have the president-elect that will listen carefully to your articulated position. This is the time for all affiliates to escalate their demands to the executive through the national labour unions to make sure a proper representation is made by labour to the incoming President of Nigeria,” he said.
The Governor said, the administration takes workers’ interests seriously and has ensured prompt payment of salaries, the #30,000 minimum wage and the consequential adjustment component. “Can we improve on that? Yes, we can. With proper negotiation and exchanges of goodwill, we can do that. This is something that Asiwaju will do and this will cascade to the state level,” he stated
He declared that the government will not sack workers as doing so offers no sustainable benefits to the state and the workers.
He said, “Let me also assure the state workers that, God willing, when we come back (re-elected), we shall not be sacking any worker. It is important to say that. It costs us more to sack workers than to keep them in their jobs, because when we sack workers, we still have to pay their gratuities and pension, among other costs.
“So it is better for the workers to stay in their jobs. We are also working on increasing the retirement ages of our teachers as well. That will be looked into very soon. We are also looking in the direction of the private sector to create more jobs. Like I said, we are looking forward to a robust engagement and good working relationship with the labour.
The governor further congratulate the new executives of the NLC, stating that his administration looks forward to a robust engagement with the leadership. He stated, “You would see that the state didn’t interfere in the election, and a proper representation has emerged for the labour union. It is a disservice to the state and the people when the government interferes with the leadership of the union. This is why we don’t do it.
The conferment of the award was part of the activities to mark the 40th year anniversary of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies’ (MINILS) Ilorin, Kwara State.
“I thank the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies for this investiture. I have been there twice. I am a great supporter of the institute and of the labour unions,” the governor said.
The Director General of the Institute, Issa Aremu, said the award was considered necessary to appreciate the Governor’s commitment to workers’ welfare, his consistent payment of the minimum wage, and how he paves the way for freedom of association among the workers and union leaders in the state.
“He has been very consistent in ensuring the implementation of promotion arrears of all categories of workers who deserved it. Then, His Excellency, a person of courage, has also given due attention to mass employment of various categories of workers, namely teachers, health professionals, and civil servants of various cadres.
“This Governor is also committed to the training and retraining of civil servants in the state, and of course, he knows the mandate of our institute is to improve the capacity of workers,” he said.
