Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki has hailed the immense contribution of workers in the state to the development strides recorded in the last two and the half years of his administration, noting that their dedication, dexterity and focus in transforming the state deserves commendation.
He restated the state government’s commitment to paying the new minimum wage of N30,000, noting that modalities are already in place to ratify the increase.
The governor said this in commemoration of Workers’ Days, a celebration of labourers and the working class promoted by the International Labour Movement, marked every May 1. It is also known as May Day or Labour Day.
The governor said the state government was committed to the welfare of workers and has demonstrated it with the reforms and revamp of infrastructure to assure a better work environment, work-life balance and after service benefits.
According to him, “As we celebrate Workers’ Day, we appreciate the dedication, dexterity and steadfastness of Edo workers in transforming the state. We reiterate our commitment to building a globally-competitive workforce and commit to sustaining revamp of the civil service.
“We will achieve this by remodelling the workplace, including the state secretariat; transitioning our workers to digital platforms for efficiency and sustaining health and pension reforms to serve them better.”
He reiterated the state government’s decision not to sack workers but to retrain them to be more efficient and abreast with the latest trends in their field of expertise, noting, “We have reached an advanced stage in the construction of a building for staff training and have secured partnership with international organisations on capacity building for workers, including the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). This will help in building a globally-competitive workforce.”
He added that the pension reforms have ensured that workers are migrated to the contributory pension scheme, which guarantees a better life during active service and in retirement.
