Ondo Varsity Staff Protest Unpaid N35,000 Wage Allowance

Joy ChukwuMarch 5, 20241 Mins read291

Employees of Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Ondo State, staged a protest on Monday under the banner of the Joint Action Committee representing all tertiary institutions. Their protest centred on the state government’s failure to disburse the N35,000 wage allowance.

While the state government had begun paying the wage allowance to civil servants since November 2023, workers in tertiary institutions were left awaiting their share. Consequently, staff members of the university embarked on an indefinite strike last week.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprises members from various labour unions, including the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, the Non-Academic Staff Union, and the National Association of Academic Technologists, representing Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions.

During the protest, protesters chanted solidarity songs and carried placards with messages that read, ‘All we are saying, pay us wage award,’ ‘We deserve N35,000 wage award, pay us,’ ‘Wage award is our right don’t deny us,’ ‘We patronise the same market, pay us N35,000 wage award,’ amongst others.

Dayo Temola, the state JAC Chairman at the institution, expressed displeasure over the government’s alleged failure to honour the wage award and other allowances, stating:

“Our joint demand is that they should pay us our N35,000 wage award that had been paid to all categories of workers in the state. We are also demanding the implementation of the 2019 minimum wage.

“We are in 2024, yet we have not got the 2019 minimum wage. It is shameful and we patronise the same market as other workers who have been receiving. Everybody knows what is currently going on in the country; even our current salaries can’t take us to the office again for a month.”

He also demanded a 100% increase in the monthly subvention of the university, pointing out that the government promised N91 million on paper but has only given N63 million.

“It is far lower than the wage bills of the university. As we speak, the university owes billions of naira from cooperatives and some other allowances. That is our agitation,” the chairman said.