Osun State workers yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government to put an end to their six-week industrial action.
Following a meeting with government representatives at the Governor’s Office in Osogbo, Labour leaders called on civil servants in the state to resume work today.
The MoU was signed by the State government, the Joint Public Service Negotiating Councils (JPSNC), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), of Osun.
However, Council of Academic Staff Unions of Osun State-owned Tertiary Institutions (CASUOSTI) dissociated itself from the strike call-off.
In a statement in Osogbo, by its Secretary, Comrade Olusegun Lana, CASUOSTI maintained that they would continue with the strike as the problem of alleged mismanagement of their contributory pension scheme and deductions from their salaries were not resolved.
Meanwhile, the state government has reportedly commenced the payment of backlog of workers’ salaries, starting with January and February, 2015 for state workers and March and April, 2015 for Local Government counterparts.
Other ongoing payments included that of primary school teachers, balance of pensions for state government for November 2014, outstanding pensions for January-February, 2015 for Retired Primary School Teachers and March, 2015 Pensions for Retired Local Government Staff.
Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Jacob Adekomi, who spoke on behalf of other labour leaders pointed out that labour, in ending the strike considered the parlous financial situation of the state arising from decline in monthly Federal Allocations and dwindling Internally Generated Revenue, IGR which originally led to non-payment of six months’ salaries.
“The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the State government, the Joint Public Service Negotiating Councils (JPSNC), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), of Osun.The MOU we are signing today is agreed to by both parties taking due cognisance of the present parlous financial situation of the state on an interim basis, as a condition precedent to suspending the strike action.
“Committees will be set up according to the MOU aimed at screening, determination of the actual wage bill, and workers in the employment of the state, the actual number and actual monthly pensions’ bills of both Local Governments’ and State Government Pensioners,” Adekomi said.
