Oyo workers promises indefinite strike over minimum wage

The Oyo state chapter of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria is planning to shut down public institutions and its services in Oyo State from 1st October, 2019 if President Muhammad Buhari led national government failed to approve the 29 and 24 percent consequential adjustment demands of the Trade union side of the technical committee on minimum wage for officers on grade level 7-14 and 15-17 respectively.

This declaration was contained in a press statement signed by the Oyo State chapter Chairman of the industrial union, Comrade Balogun Babatunde and made available to newsmen. The labour activist said: ‘We have patiently watched for almost 6months, the lack of political will and inhuman agenda of President Buhari led national government in Nigeria to plug mass of Nigerians into untold suffering and hardship which he unleashed via different anti-masses policies since the inception of his administration on 29 May, 2015.”

”You will recall that the inception of this administration birthed over 150percent increase in the prices of goods and services in Nigeria. While we were battling the scourge, instead of coming up with palliative measures to ameliorate the hardship, the President Buhari irrationally increased the prices of PMS from N86 to N145 per litre with the promise that he will fix the nation’s refinaries in 3years and the prices of PMS will drop to N20 per litre. It is almost 4years since it has been increased and news moving around the corner in Nigeria is the possibility of a potential upward review of the prices of PMS as against the downward review he promised”, he added.

According to the union, in 2015, a bag of rice was being sold at N7,800 but today, it goes for N21, 500; adding that the latest announcement of the President Buhari led FEC to increase VAT from it’s present 5 percent to 7.2percent further affirms the agenda of the President Buhari administration to transport Nigerian workers and masses from her present bad economic state to a worse financial state.

Balogun stressed that consequential adjustment is a product of the percentage increase which is determined by the market reality, but due to the lack of political will of President Buhari to pay the new minimum wage, it had employed different administrative manipulative antics to derail it’s implementation. ”As stakeholders in the Nigerian project, who have the historic responsibility to defend and promote the course of Nigerian workers and masses. We are constrained to employ other measures to safe Nigerians from continuous hunger and heightened poverty”, he added.

He therefore posited: ”It is in a bid to restore the hope of our members, Nigerian masses and also protect the future of our children-children that the Oyo State chapter of the industrial union intends to begin a total shut down of all public institutions in the state from October 1,2019 if President Buhari don’t meet our demands of 29 and 24 percent consequential adjustment and with payment immediate payment of arrears from April 18, 2019 till date before Independence day.”