The meeting between the Oyo State government and the labour movement in the state over the irregularity of payment of salary and pensions ended with no concrete agreement on Thursday, as both parties resolved to commence another round of negotiations.

Speaking at the end of the four-hour long meeting, chairman, Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Waheed Olojede, hinted that the labour movement had asked the government team, led by former Secretary to Oyo State Government, Mr Olalekan Alli, to return with a feedback on how best to ensure regular payment of salary, as soon as possible.

Olojede said labour movement’s position on the subsisting memorandum of understanding (MoU) to the effect that 90 per cent of federal allocation be used to pay salaries had become obsolete.

Calling for a review, he said the agreement had become obsolete because the Federal Government allocation had continued to dwindle and 90 per cent of such allocation was irrelevant.

Noting the prevailing economic circumstances, he called for a review that suited the prevailing economic circumstances and socio-economic capacity of workers.

“We rose with the understanding that now that negotiation has commenced, negotiation is in progress and will continue and run within a short reasonable time within which we come to a conclusion on how to address the irregularity of payment of salary and pensions and payment of all outstanding.

“The government team informed us that they will inform their principal. We told them that they should give us a feedback quickly for us to determine how best to end this crisis of irregularity in the payment of salary.

“We feel that within now and the next few days, we will be invited to another round of meeting. We appeal to government that they should use the opportunity of the understanding and negotiation that commenced today as a golden one and not allow an industrial impasse in the state.

“We appeal to government to round off the negotiation to allow the exiting industrial peace in the state to be sustained,” he said.