Oyo State workers issue 7-day ultimatum over unpaid salaries

Organised labour in Oyo State has issued a 7-day ultimatum to Oyo State Government to settle over five months arrears of salaries owed workers.

The ultimatum was issued on Tuesday in Ibadan by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiation Council (JNC).

Mr Waheed Olojede, the State NLC Chairman, who spoke at a news conference, said that the 7-day ultimatum would commence on Wednesday, March 30 and lapse on Thursday, April 7.

He said that the unions had considered the prevailing condition of workers and pensioners with five months unpaid salaries and the failure of government to accede to previous requests.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the government and the unions in 2015 signed a memorandum of understanding on how the salaries would be paid.

Olojede said that the unions had written to the state government requesting for a meeting, which he claimed the government failed to accept.
Olojede said that the situation had reduced workers to state of poverty, adding that their productivity, diligence and absolute commitment would be hinged on how the workers were treated.

“If government fails to meet the leadership of the labour movement in the state, we may not be able to guarantee continued industrial peace beyond the stipulated time,” he said.