Oyo State Polytechnic, College Workers Threaten Indefinite Strike Over Minimum wage

Workers of polytechnics and colleges of education in Oyo State have threatened to embark on an indefinite strike from February 6, 2025, following the continued delay in implementing the approved minimum wage for the institutions by the Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde.

Chairman, Joint Action Committee, Dr. Kola Lawal, made this known in a release issued and made available to reporters in Ibadan, the state capital.

He stressed that the delay in implementing the policy is an apparent neglect of the workers’ welfare and an outright failure to uphold the state government’s good intentions, as the chairman added that the development had placed undue financial strain on workers expected to deliver quality education under increasingly difficult conditions.

Lawal noted that despite the state government’s increased subsidy to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to ensure the smooth implementation of the new minimum wage for workers in the state’s institutions of higher learning, the institutions’ management failed to implement the payment of the new minimum wage as expected.

“Furthermore, to ensure smooth implementation, the state government increased subsidies to institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, for the purpose of implementing the new minimum wage for workers in these institutions to be paid accordingly.

“However, despite these provisions, the management of our institutions has failed to implement the payment of the new minimum wage as expected. Notably, other institutions, such as LAUTECH and Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo, which received the same percentage increase in subvention at the same time, immediately implemented the new minimum wage for January 2025.

The Chairman also described the development as unacceptable, mainly because other institutions had been paid the new wage except for workers in the polytechnics and colleges of education.

The statement reads, “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, despite the commendable efforts of His Excellency, Governor ‘Seyi Makinde to improve workers’ welfare in the state.