BY GBENGA OLARINOYE
OSOGBO — LEADERS of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Osun State, have appealed to the striking workers in the state to call off their strike and cooperate with the Rauf Aregbesola-led administration over the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage.

Workers in the state, Monday, resumed their suspended strike after the state government and the leadership of the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, failed to reach an agreement on the implementation of the new wage last week.

Government activities were crippled as workers stayed off duties while the gates to the state government secretariat at Abere were locked.
ACN leaders in a statement noted that the government sought the understanding of the workers on the 100 per cent application of the law to Grade Levels 01 to 07 while it applies the new salary law to other levels from 08 to 17 on pro-rata basis.

Chairman of the party in the state, Elder Adelowo Adebiyi said as stakeholders in the Osun project, workers had a duty to ensure rapid development of the state through their cooperation in the implementation of the new wage.

According to the statement, “The Governor personally called leaders of the workers to explain the position of the state’s finances to them. Nothing was hidden and the labour leaders themselves have seen that 100 per cent application across the board would mop up the entire resources of the state.

It is our belief that as stakeholders, labour leaders have the duty to properly convey this state of finance to their members in order to ensure progress in the state.”

He reminded the workers that the ACN was a pro-workers party, adding that “it is the desire of the Aregbesola-led administration to make Osun state workers the best paid in the country when the resources of the state improve.”

Aregbesola, the ACN chairman said “believes in service to the people. Workers should imbibe the spirit of service to the people in order to achieve development for the state. Workers in this state will end up discovering the goods that lay ahead for them should they dedicate themselves to service to the people.

The issue of minimum wage should not cause any disaffection between the workers and the government in order to ensure development for this state.”