• ’Some of us are earning less than N3,000 per month’
Osun State pensioners, under the aegis of Forum of 2011/2012 Retired Public Servants, yesterday protested against Governor Ademola Adeleke over non-implementation of N18,000 minimum wage.
The protesters, who carried placards, converged on Ogo-Oluwa. They demanded that Adeleke must obey court judgment mandating the state government to pay them N18,000 minimum wage, instead of N9,000 that is being paid.
Speaking with reporters, the leader of the group, Comrade Yemi Lawal, said the government failed to honour the ruling delivered by the Industrial Court on October 5, 2017.
He said: “This is not the first time we are protesting. Since 2014, we have been agitating for our entitlements to be in conformity with the N18,000 minimum wage. Unfortunately, the government has defied this by paying only N9,000.
“The fact is, in 2010, former President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law N18,000 minimum wage. When the new retirement scheme was introduced for contributory pensioners, they gave us two options. They asked if we wanted to stay and be part of the new minimum wage or go.
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“We were in the service in March 2011 when N18,000 minimum wage was signed into law by former governor Rauf Aregbesola for Osun workers. Aregbesola, then, said workers from grade level 1 to 7 would begin to enjoy the new wage as from March that same year, and he complied and paid arrears.
“However, he said senior officers from grade level 8 and above would start getting the new N18,000 minimum wage by August 2011, but he didn’t implement it.
“In 2012, the government of Aregbesola went to the Industrial Court in Lagos, but the court did not rule in its favour and directed the government to obey the agreement signed.”
Lawal said Aregbesola failed to implement the agreement until they retired in December 2012.
“Recently, N70,000 was approved as new minimum wage and we felt it would bring succour to our members, but only N25,000 was approved across board. At present, some pensioners are earning less than N3,000 per month.”