Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State will win votes of workers in the state in the 2023 elections. Comrade Sikiru Bayo Titilola-Sodo, Special Adviser (Labour Affairs) to the Governor, declared when speaking at the monthly personality programme of the South-West Group of Online Publishers (SWEGOP). Newscoven.ng reports:
What are your duties as the Special Adviser on Labour Affairs to Governor ‘Seyi Makinde?
The job of my office is multivarious but it can be narrow down to the welfare of the workers and citizens of Oyo State. I see to what outrightly belongs to the workers, both at the formal and informal sectors. My job is to ensure that workers get paid, promoted, get their allowances and trained as and when due. Anyone who is shortchanged or unfairly treated can always reach out to my office for justice.
How true is it that Governor Makinde is a difficult personality to work with?
It depends on the perception of the person working with him. But to me, I have found him to be a pleasant person to work with. All what I know is that anyone that wants to engage him must be fully prepared.
If you have a project idea to discuss with him, you must make sure that you are well prepared before you meet him. He will definitely ask you questions and, if he finds you wanting, he will switch off from such a discussion. I think such an attitude is natural and should be expected of a person of his caliber.
When will his administration review the wages and salaries of workers in the state, in line with the current economic realities in the country?
The minimum wage in Oyo State was negotiated in February 2020. Respective local councils were finally directed to embark on negotiation in December which was concluded within two months. The minimum wage payment took effect in January and February salary was paid in line with the new minimum wage. So, arrears of the minimum wage were paid in March.
The minimum wage in Oyo State is N30,500 and which Governor Seyi Makinde has been paying. He has been keeping to his promise by paying workers’ salary on or before the 25th day of every month.
The minimum wage negotiation was the first of its kind in Oyo State. It was a negotiation that was devoid of rancor, violence, protest and strike. The governor doesn’t wait for federal allocation before paying the workers.
Although, the salary has not been reviewed upward but we have continued to meet our responsibilities as and when due. Paying workers’ entitlement is not limited to the active workers; the senior citizens are not left behind. This present government has committed over N13.5b to the payment of gratuities across board in the state.
What is the true position of things with tertiary institutions in the state?
This government needs to be commended, going by the enormous responsibilities before it. The tertiary institutions have the right to make their demands but they should be reasonable in making their demands.
There was no domestic issue with LAUTECH until Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) declared a strike action. LAUTECH joined the strike but we have other state universities that didn’t join the strike. An example is the Lagos State University (LASU).
We are appealing to them to resume because the institution is just coming out of a crisis-ridden period. When Oyo State took over the institution, there was an agreement to pay N8b to Osun State as settlement which the state government has been paying. This is an open secret to which many of the staff of the institution are aware.
So, if we say something is happening nationally, should we now jeopardize the interest of the institution, students and the environment that it is located? These are the things we are appealing to them to consider. When this government came on board, we inherited arrears of LAUTECH staff salary that were not less than eight months and we have paid everything.
As for other institutions in the state, we also negotiated their new minimum wage and they got what even public service did not get. The minimum in that sector was 95 per cent of the table that came from Abuja, while some got as higher as 98 per cent.
After Lagos State, we pay the best wages in Oyo State. It is only our public service workers that are mainly shortchanged and this is not deliberate; it is something that can be corrected. Our health workers earn better than other health workers in the entire South-West, except Lagos State. In addition, we have paid all the arrears in the institutions except Lanlate which have a special issue and which we have not refused to settle.
The Governor Makinde-led administration has been criticised for using consultants for payment of salaries and projects. Why is this so?
Workers generally don’t like consultants because there are regulations guiding the operations of the finances of the government. We are in a situation where the government continues to discover and observes lapses in some areas, particularly in the collection of revenues.
The state government makes use of consultants for efficient collection of revenues and to also employ TSA for adequate monitoring. The state government thinks there is a need to control its expenditure because the resources are not limitless and we have a lot of commitments.
We know that the easiest way to reflate the economy of Oyo State is through prompt payment of salary. Anyone saying prompt payment of salary, pension and gratuities are not achievements is either irresponsibly ignorant or satanically mischievous.
Anyone who does what Napoleon was unable to do is greater than Napoleon. Oyo State civil service is a reflection of our society, the Oyo State Government is paying them as and when due. To whom much is given, much is expected.
What is the governor demandimh for from the workers to reciprocate the good gesture of prompt payment of salaries?
The request the government has always been making from public workers and civil servants in the state is to be diligent in their duties, honest and loyal to the government and people of Oyo State.
Some parts of the state Civil Service are experiencing systemic collapse. What is the government doing to revive them?
There are critical departments that are required to be staffed, but it all depends on the resources available to the state. Over N11b is being paid as emoluments every month to workers and retirees in the state. I make bold to say that no government has done what Makind-led administration has done in terms of infrastructures in the space of three years in Oyo State.
Being on the other side of the divide, how easy have you find it making Labour Unions cooperate with the government?
I have been lucky. Ofcourse, we disagree sometimes. I know they love me. Above all, we are open and honest to each other. When it is time to criticize and complain, we do have it. I have not lost my instinct for activism and they still see me as one of them. The solidarity is still very strong.
Do you think workers in Oyo State will vote for Governor Makinde for second term?
If one good term deserves another, I am confident that we shall not loose a single vote of the workers of Oyo State. We have tasted the two sides of a coin and we know the side we would want to continue to reflect the sun. This will be reflected in how workers in the state will vote for the governor in the 2023 elections.
Oyo State Civil Service is an aging service. The wish of Governor Seyi Makinde is to open more opportunities for the people to reach the peak of their careers. That is what informed the creation of 20 new Permanent Secretary positions. We have about 100, 000 workers in Oyo State.
Recently, parliamentary staff of the Oyo State House of Assembly embarrassed the Speaker concerning their Consolidated Legislative Salary Structure (CONLESS). What is delaying the implementation of CONLESS?
No matter what you do, excellence is a work in progress. It should have been implemented, but everything is subjected to the availability of resources. It is good for them to demand for its implementation, but the question is that, how many states have implemented it? Is it all federal laws that are immediately domesticated across states?
That is not to say that anything that is germane to the welfare of workers of Oyo State would be treated with levity. It is the same Honourable Speaker that presided over a meeting where an agreement was reached that the matter would be resolved. A date has been fixed and I can tell you that the outcome is going to be to the satisfaction of the two parties.
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