By Ahmed Suleiman
Employees of the Kwara State Transport Company (Kwara Express), Ilorin have offered reasons why they called off their four-day old strike on Thursday.
The industrial action embarked upon by staff of the transport company to register their displeasure over the non-payment of their salary arrears appeared to have yielded result as the state government is reportedly set to release the sum of N26 million to clear the salary backlog.
The workers had on Monday directed their grievances at Harmony Holdings Limited, the management company of Kwara Express.
However in a chat with this medium, on Friday, the Chairman, Joint Negotiation Committee, Com. Saliu Sulaimon said the workers decided to return to duty after the state government offered to release the sum of N26 million to offset the salary backlog.
“The state government has promised to pay the remaining N26 million backlogs in instalment though the exact time was not disclosed,” he divulged.
Sulaimon further disclosed that the committee has agreed with the state government on the mode of payment following the intervention of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) under the leadership of the state Chairman, Com. Yekeen Agunbaide and the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Babatunde Yusuf.
Confirming the development, Harmony Holdings through a statement issued at the weekend, said, “Following the tripartite meeting held between the workers unions of Harmony Transport Services Limited (Kwara Express), Harmony Holdings Limited and Kwara State Government over the arrears owed the workers, the government has magnanimously released funds to effect payment to the workers.”
Recall that this medium, last week, reported that workers of Kwara Express have concluded plans to embark on an indefinite strike to express their displeasure over non-payment of their salary arrears and gratuity owed them.
“There is no going back on the strike action. Many workers can no longer go to the cooperatives to borrow money, the suffering is much and they (Harmony Holdings) have decided not to listen to our yearnings,” the Chairman, Joint Negotiation Committee, had stated.
The breakdown of the backlog owed the workers, according to Sulaimon, include N17million outstanding arrears of minimum wage, N10 million unremitted cooperative fund, N9 million contributory pension, N6million National Housing Fund (NHF) unremitted.
