Kwara Governor Signs N30,000 Minimum Wage After Workers Embarked On Strike

 

The government of Kwara State has reached an agreement with workers of tertiary institutions in the state to implement N30,000 minimum wage

 

The government according to a report by TheNation, said the new minimum wage covering the concerned workers at the tertiary institutions will take effece from July, 1 2022.

 

According to the government, it signed an agreement with the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council on the implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage and consequential adjustment for non-teaching staff at the state Colleges of Education, state Polytechnic and College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS).

 

This is as workers of the three colleges of education in Oro, Ilorin and Lafiagi have for over three weeks been on strike over the non-implementation of 2011 agreement.

 

It said the current agreement had set the effective date for the implementation of the new minimum wage covering the concerned workers at the tertiary institutions at July, 1 2022.

 

The deal also provided the government shall in subsequent wage review include the unions at the tertiary institutions in the committee for negotiations on behalf of workers and moderate subvention payment process to be flexible to enable payment of workers at the tertiary institutions as and when due; and that there shall be no retrenchment of workers as a result of the implementation of the minimum wage.

 

“We are gathered here to sign the last bit of the N30,000 minimum wage and consequential adjustment for non-teaching staff at the Colleges of Education, Kwara State Polytechnic and College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS). I want to say thank you to these unions for being considerate,” Head of Service Modupe Oluwole said at the signing of the agreement at the Governor’s Office Ilorin, the capital city.

 

 

State Chairman of NLC Comrade Isa Ore commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Head of Service and other key stakeholders in the struggle for achieving the feat.

 

“Today, another landmark achievement was made here in the history of Kwara State. Minimum wage and consequential agreement was signed for the education sector. The workers in Kwara State are known to be patient and we have mutual understanding with the state government. In the next few years, another minimum wage will come on board,” he said.

 

Chairman Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education Nigeria (SSUCOEN) Comrade Love Adeyemi applauded AbdulRazaq for showing sincere commitment to the welfare of the Kwara workers.

 

“We just signed agreement on minimum wage and consequential adjustment as it affects workers in Kwara State tertiary institutions. It has been a tortuous journey since 2019 and the government has been very responsive. Each time we raise the issue, the government tries as much as possible to attend to us and made us see reasons why government could not pay since 2019. This year we felt that all other categories of workers have been paid and it is high time we got ours too,” she said.