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The Oyo State Government has called on its striking civil servants to demonstrate greater understanding of the situation which has affected the payment of salaries as at when due and call off their strike.
The state’s Head of Service, Mr. Soji Eniade, who made the call while addressing newsmen in his office in Ibadan on Tuesday, urged the workers to resume work and allow for further negotiations to be made
between labour and government.
He confirmed the receipt of the letter from the state council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to the effect that its national body had directed it to commence an industrial action immediately as a result
of unpaid salaries. Eniade, however, said it was on record that since the inception of the present administration, payment of salaries had been effected latest by the 25th of every month, adding that this feat had been maintained until recently when allocation to states from the Federal Government started nosediving.
He further maintained that the paucity of funds had been severally discussed with the representatives of the labour unions on the need to fashion out ways of addressing the unfortunate development.
The Head of Service said that the situation in which the state had found itself called for partner between government and workers, particularly on ways of improving the internally-generated revenue (IGR) to augment the dwindling federal allocation.
“I like to personally plead with workers to resume work as it is our joint responsibility to ensure a complete transformation of our state to a very buoyant and self sustaining economy,’’ he said.
Eniade noted that while the monthly wage bill stood at N5.2 billion, the amount received last from the Federation Account was N2.6 billion, leaving a shortfall of N2.6 billion for the payment of workers’
salaries alone, aside other developmental programmes.
While emphasizing the need for greater understanding on the part of the workers, he said that the situation was not peculiar to the state alone, stressing the state was owing only two months’ salaries as against some states owing their workers between five and nine months salaries.
It is in view of the foregoing that government is pleading with the workers in the state, who have enjoyed cordial relationship with the present administration spanning a period of four years, to call off their strike and allow the ongoing negotiations between it and labour to continue,’’ the Head of Service said.