Palliative: Oyo Pensioners Reject Proposed N10,000 Wage Award

By: Adebayo Yusuf 

Oyo State Pensioners on Thursday, rejected the proposed 10,000 naira as wage award for state-owned retirees by the 11-man ad hoc inter-ministerial committee on the harmonization of the various demands by labour unions set up by the Oyo State government.

The senior citizens made this known during an emergency congress of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Oyo State Council held at Pensioners’ House Onireke, Ibadan.

The Pensioners, who came from the thirty-three local government areas of the State, had arrived the venue of the congress as early as eight o clock in the morning, to brainstorm on issues about their wellbeing.

At the end of the over two hours meeting, the retirees apart from rejecting the 10,000 naira proposed as wage award, unanimously agreed that 20,000 to 25,000 naira should be proposed as wage award for Pensioners to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal. 

Reading the communique of the congress on behalf of other Pensioners, Executive Secretary of Oyo NUP, Comrade Olusegun Abatan said the members rejected the proposed 10,000-naira wage award as it would not meet up with the realities of life. 

Comrade Abatan said the state retirees are hungry and are being faced with old age illnesses, and therefore, urged the Oyo state Government to toil the line of the federal government which has prioritised the welfare of Pensioners concerning wage award. 

The Oyo State NUP Scribe, said that other decision reached at the congress, was the need to implement the 13- point demands which include consequential adjustment of Pension and harmonisation of pensions and gratuities, which is already before Governor Seyi Makinde. 

Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Oyo state council, Comrade Kayode Martins, who was present at the congress, said the labour union would support the Pensioners in their request, appealed to workers and retirees to converge on the union’s secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, Monday, October 23, 2023 at 8 O’ clock in the morning for the state congress. 

Present at the congress were Chairman, Oyo NUP, Chief Isiaka Abolade, Assistant Secretary, Oyo NUP, Comrade Banji Koleoso, former NLC Chairman in the State, Comrade Ibrahim Bolomope, Secretary, the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, AUPCTRE, Comrade Muhammed Ibrahim and General Manager, Pensioners’ FM, Dr Babatunde Tiamiyu.