Kwara State government has reduced the number of working days per week from five to three to lessen the impact of the fuel subsidy removal on their earnings.
In a meeting with top labour leaders today, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said the civil service authorities would release further guidance on the measure, including how it affects health workers and teachers.
He appealed to the workers that the recent removal of fuel subsidy had been done in good faith to curb further damage to the economy.
The Governor told the labour leaders: “Removal of subsidy is definitely a painful decision that the government had to take in the larger interest of the country. It is the cheapest and most sustainable option available to curb criminal bleeding of the resources at the expense of the larger public.
“Subsidy regime means Nigeria is running a deficit budget that continues to hurt economic growth and make people poorer. The country was having to borrow to feed a tiny few, while important things like infrastructural development, industrial growth, job creation receive lesser resources.
“Now that subsidy has been removed as there is no provision for it in the budget anymore, the government is open to veritable ideas from the labour unions on how to redirect the savings for maximum public benefit, including pay rise.
“Mr. President and all of us (Governors) really acknowledge the short-term pains that come with the development, but we are committed to making sure that the interest of the workers and the Nigerian people is protected”.
The meeting was attended by the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Muritala Saheed Olayinka; his counterpart of the Trade Union Congress, Comrade Joseph Tunde Meshach; state chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Ola Ahmad; chairman of the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners Association, Dr. Yusuf Amuda; Vice Chairman of the National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers, Comrade (Mrs.) Medinat Jimoh; and representatives of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, among others. They were led to the meeting by the Head of Service, Mrs Susan Modupe Oluwole.
Olayinka said that the call for such a meeting shows good leadership on the part of the Governor.
He agreed with AbdulRazaq that dialogue is better than strike action at this time, urging the Governor to use his good office as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to intervene in the national issue for amicable resolutions.
“As said by you, we know there is a little misunderstanding between leadership of NLC and the representatives of the federal government. We have discussed it holistically within ourselves at the state level that when a negotiation is ongoing, it doesn’t call for strike demonstration”,.
Meshach said that engagement and dialogue are the best options to resolve the issues.
He appealed to the government to be sincere as they go about the discussion of a new minimum wage for workers and palliatives for the poor masses.
