Ekiti Government slashes workers salary

The Ekiti State Government has suspended the Consequential Salary Adjustment and reduced salaries of civil servants and political appointees.

According to a report from Vanguard, the salary slash was part of an agreement reached on Friday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the government and organized labour.

The slight salary adjustment was being enjoyed by workers on grade levels 07 to 12 since January 2021. It has now been partially suspended for a period of three months with the latest development.

However, workers on grade levels 01 and 06 will not be affected as their N30,000 minimum wage still stands.

The agreement was read in the meeting by  the TUC Chairman, Sola Adigun, who disclosed that the adjustment would be for certain categories of workers for a period of three months— May to July.

Adigun further revealed that the salaries of political appointees be slashed by 25 percent for a period of three months.
The pact also included that the release of the running grant for the running of government office be reduced, while monthly meeting of the Economic Review Committee was mandated to convene five days after the meeting of the Federal Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, to keep the workers abreast of the state’s financial position.

Last December, labour unions in the state had threatened to shut down activities of the state government if Governor Kayode Fayemi failed to implement the N30,000 minimum wages and the consequential adjustment to workers across board.

Also, in March, activities at the Ekiti State House of Assembly were on a total lockdown for over three hours, following a peaceful protest by workers in the state over the contentious minimum wage.

Representing the government at the meeting were Head of Service, Mrs Peju Babafemi; the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Labour Matters, Oluyemi Esan, and the Permanent Secretary, Office of Establishment and Service Matters, Mr. Bayo Opeyemi.

The Chairmen, Nigerian Labour Congress, Kolapo Olatunde; his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress, Sola Adigun, and that of the Joint Negotiating Council Kayode Fatomiluyi, as well as their Secretaries, signed on behalf of the labour centres.