Oyo NLC moves to ensure payment of workers’ salaries from Paris Club refund

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Oyo State Chapter, has assured workers in the state that the union would monitor the next tranche of Paris Club fund refund to ensure that it is used for the payment of outstanding workers’ salaries.

Its Chairman, Waheed Olojede, who spoke at the 2017 women committee quadrennial delegate conference of the women wing of the state council of the union, said the welfare of the workers is still of uttermost concern to the leadership of the council.

He said: “I want to assure our workers that we will never rest on our oars to ensure that the state government offsets the arrears of salaries and entitlements owed the state workers in no distant future.

“We are patiently waiting for the assistance to be given to states through the Paris Club fund refund. If this next one comes, we are already in touch with the government of Oyo State to ensure that whatever is credited into the account of Oyo State Government is used to clear all the arrears of outstanding salaries of workers.

“We have the responsibility and commitment as leaders of workers to ensure that we protect their industrial interest before their employer, that is the state government.”

Olojede, who commended the women wing on the delegate conference, said: “What we have done here is to resolve at congress level how the various positions are shared among the existing councils of the state congress.

“And we are using this to pass an important message to the political leaders. Today, Nigeria is divided into geo-political zones. If positions will be distributed to these zones, the zones should be able to resolve issues rather than going into contests and ending up creating enmity after the contests.

“Most people after elections are lost and won live in acrimony and when that happens, peace will always elude us and there will be continuous agitations and counter-agitations.”

The NLC National President, Ayuba Wabba, charged the workers to ensure that they do everything possible to ensure that the Oyo State government do the needful in getting their salaries paid promptly as the fund is released.

Wabba, however, said the national leadership of the congress would do everything possible to get the Federal Government on its toes in ensuring that the new minimum wage is achieved for the Nigerian workers.