Minimum Wage: Kwara Government Set Up Nine Member Committee

A nine-member committee has been inaugurated in Ilorin by the Kwara State Government over minimum wage.

Isiaka Gold, the Secretary to the state government, stated that the state Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed is prepared to ensure that workers in the state earn a living wage.

“The governor has agreed to examine the position of the Federal authorities on the minimum wage and come up with the position of the state government in the overall interest of the workforce and the people of Kwara.

“The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the committee will include the immediate and remote circumstances surrounding the agitation of the civil servants for the payment of N30, 000 minimum wage in Kwara.

“Others include the actual rate being paid presently in the state and the ability of the state government to pay the N30, 000 minimum wage to civil servants in view of the prevailing economic realities,’’ Gold said.

Mrs. Susan Oluwole, Kwara Head of Service, while speaking at the inauguration, claimed that the relationship between labour and government in Kwara was cordial.

“This is responsible for the industrial harmony and peace we enjoy in Kwara and by implication the high productivity of the workforce in the state,” she said.

She called on the committee to work assiduously and come up with an all-encompassing report that could stand the test of time and enhance government and labour relations.

The Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development, Wasiu Odewale while speaking stated that every government will strive to pay a living wage so as to guide against mediocrity in service delivery.

Members of the Kwara State Minimum Wage Committee include Alhaji Wasiu Odewale, the Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development; Mr Yekini Agunbiade, Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC); and Mr Kola Olumo, Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), among others.