Why Oyo Polytechnic Workers Are Fighting Back: The Truth About Minimum Wage

Following the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, continuing to delay the implementation of the approved minimum wage for the institutions, Oyo State polytechnic and college of education employees have vowed to go on indefinite strike starting February 6, 2025.

In a statement released on Sunday and provided to media in the state capital of Ibadan, Dr. Kola Lawal, the chairman of the Joint Action Committee, explained this.

The delay in putting the policy into effect, according to Lawal, shows a clear disregard for the wellbeing of the workers and a flagrant betrayal of the state government's good intentions. To guarantee that workers receive fair compensation, the government has taken aggressive measures.

"The development has put undue financial strain on workers expected to deliver quality education under increasingly difficult conditions," the head of the Oyo State JAC added.

According to him, the management of the state's higher education institutions has not implemented the payment of the new minimum wage as planned, even though the state government has increased subsidies to universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to ensure the seamless implementation of the new minimum wage for workers in the state's institutions of higher learning.

He characterized the development as unsatisfactory, primarily because workers in the polytechnics and education colleges were the only institutions that had received the new wage.

"Despite the admirable efforts of His Excellency, Governor 'Seyi Makinde, to improve workers' welfare in the state, the workers of polytechnics and colleges of education in Oyo State wish to bring to the public's attention the continued delay in the implementation of the approved minimum wage for our institutions," the statement reads.

Additionally, the state government expanded subsidies to colleges of education, universities, and polytechnics in order to facilitate the implementation of the new minimum wage and ensure that employees in these establishments receive the appropriate compensation.

But in spite of these clauses, our institutions' administration has not carried out the new minimum salary payment as planned. Notably, other universities that received the same percentage rise in subvention at the same time, like Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo, and LAUTECH, promptly instituted the new minimum wage for January 2025.

Unfortunately, despite the availability of monies intended for this purpose, employees in Oyo State's polytechnics and colleges of education have not been treated equally.

Workers' financial difficulties have gotten worse as a result of this failure, particularly in light of growing inflation and other economic difficulties.

We see this as a clear violation of our welfare and a flagrant betrayal of the state government's well-meaning intentions, as it had taken proactive measures to guarantee that workers receive fair compensation.

The fact that workers in our polytechnics and colleges of education are left behind despite their equal deservingness while other institutions benefit from the new minimum wage is intolerable.

Given this, we insist that the Governor's agreed new minimum wage be implemented immediately for January 2025 and that pay starting in February 2025 immediately reflect the new wage structure.

Due to the policy's delayed implementation, employees who are expected to provide high-quality instruction in progressively challenging circumstances are under undue financial hardship.

We would want to firmly declare that, beginning on Thursday, February 6, 2025, employees at Oyo State's polytechnics and colleges of education would cease to work indefinitely if the remaining amount in the minimum wage table is not paid by Wednesday, February 5, 2025.

"This industrial action will be complete and all-encompassing until the problem is fixed. In order to avoid interfering with academic activities and guarantee that workers receive their due compensation, we trust those in charge of carrying out the Governor's directive would move quickly. While we will continue to fulfill our obligations, we will not stand by and watch while our rights and privileges are disregarded.

"In the interest of industrial harmony, worker welfare, and the advancement of education in Oyo State, we call on all pertinent authorities, stakeholders, and well-meaning individuals to step in and ensure that this issue is resolved immediately."