Get Guardian on GoogleOsun govt workers resume after three-day warning strike
Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has demanded an immediate increase in the minimum salary of federal workers to N300,000 monthly, declaring that the N70,000 they receive can no longer guarantee a decent standard of living amid rising economic hardship.
In Osun State, government workers resumed duty yesterday after calling off their three-day warning strike, called by the organised labour, for the release of funds due to local governments in the state by the Federal Government.
The association said the soaring costs of food, transportation, energy and healthcare had further eroded workers’ purchasing power, making an urgent and substantial salary review imperative.
National President of ASCSN, Shehu Mohammed, made the demand yesterday at the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, attended by the Minister of Labour and Employment.
Mohammed urged the Federal Government to move beyond temporary palliatives, including wage awards, and implement a sustainable salary increase that reflects prevailing economic realities.
Aligning with the position of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), he said that temporary interventions could not provide lasting solutions to the economic challenges confronting workers.
He expressed concern over the government’s failure to fully implement previous relief packages, particularly the 2023 wage awards, saying the experience weakened workers’ confidence in temporary intervention measures.
He therefore urged the Federal Government not to wait until the next statutory minimum wage negotiation cycle before reviewing workers’ salaries.
“Rather than waiting until the next statutory minimum wage negotiation cycle, we demand that the Federal Government should act immediately by raising the salary of its lowest-paid worker to N300,000, with appropriate consequential adjustments across higher salary grade levels,” he said.
Responding to the association’s concerns, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammadu Dingyadi, called for a stronger partnership between the Federal Government and organised labour, urging both sides to embrace dialogue and collaboration to address workers’ welfare.
Speaking at the meeting with the theme, ‘From Confrontation to Collaboration’, the minister said disagreements between government and labour should be resolved through constructive engagement rather than strikes and prolonged confrontations.
THE gates of the Osun State government secretariat in Abere, and the Osun House of Assembly, which had been shut since Monday, were reopened, as workers came back to work.
Similarly, workers in the Olorunda and Osogbo local government secretariats were back at their duty posts.
Organised labour in the state directed workers on Sunday to embark on a solidarity strike with local council workers to demand the release of withheld council allocations.
The organised labour, on Wednesday, however, directed workers to resume duty yesterday.
It appreciated workers, pensioners, and affiliated unions for their support, cooperation, and peaceful conduct during the industrial action.
