Labour leaders in Kwara state have asked members to resume work on Wednesday following the agreement reached between the Federal Government and the national leaders of labour unions to relax ongoing strike action on the minimum wage issue.
The chairman, Kwara State Council of the NLC, Comrade Muritala Olayinka, who briefed members of the State Executive Council (SEC) at a joint meeting with the TUC on the outcome of the joint emergency NEC meeting in Ilorin Tuesday, deplored the insensitive disposition of the government to the welfare of workers.
He said the current economic situation had made it a matter of necessity to offer a reasonable sum of money as minimum wage for workers in the country.
Olayinka commended members for being proactive in the enforcement of compliance until the issuance of a directive to relax the industrial action.
The NLC chairman, who addressed the SEC alongside his TUC counterpart, Comrade Abdulrahman Onikijipa, asked members of affiliates of both unions to resume at their respective places of work from Wednesday.
Onikijipa, on his part, thanked members of the organized labour for their physical and moral support since the beginning of the struggle.
Declaring that the labour was not averse to negotiation on the new minimum wage, the TUC urged the government to show commitment and present a wage that would be in tandem with the purchasing power of the masses.
It was gathered that in continuation of the industrial action, public schools and offices in Ilorin were under lock and key in keeping faith with the directive of the leadership of the organized labour.
Students of public schools such as St. Anthony Secondary School, Offa Road, GRA; Cherubim and Seraphim College, Sabo-Oke and Government Day Secondary School, Tanke, all in Ilorin who had come as early as 7 am were asked to return home.
However, final-year students who are currently sitting for the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) were allowed into the school premises.
Visits to the state Teaching Service Commission, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board, State Secretariat Phase One along Offa Road, GRA and State High Court Complex on Lajorin Road, GRA, Ilorin showed that they were still closed.
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