From Hameed Braimah
Social justice simply refers to a fair and equitable division of resources, opportunities, and privileges in a given society. Originally a religious concept, it has come to be conceptualized more loosely as the just organization of social institutions that deliver access to economic benefits.
This definition best situates Governor Monday Okpebholo’s decision to pursue policies and programmes that have direct impact on the lives of Edo people, programmes of action the people can relate with and not such that obfuscate and abuse the sensibilities of the citizens.
He did not promise to provide some incredible 200,000 jobs, yet he has brought into the civil service of Edo State some persons whose purchasing power has been raised from the abysmally low N20,000 per month to N70,000.
Their services to the State as cleaners none the less will keep all government offices in the state clean and healthy thereby contributing in no small measures to the State’s health development index for a healthier Edo State.
The action of the Governor was not unexpected as it only gave vent to his avowed commitment to promoting social justice and inclusivity when these 360 Edo citizens from the three Senatorial Districts were employed into the state’s Civil Service.
Those employed according to the State Head of Service Anthony Okungbowa Esq, are cleaners whose services though very strategic to the health and wellness of Edo workers had been outsourced by the previous administration in the State to various private contractors whose interests were driven solely by profit with little or no attention paid to the welfare of the engaged staff.
All of that has changed under the present people centred administration under the leadership of Senator Monday Okpebholo as the cleaners will now join their senior colleagues in the State Public Service to earn the N70,000 (seventy thousand Naira) minimum wage.
Interestingly, those recruited have been deployed to various government ministries and parastatals to boost the workforce with a view to promoting greater efficiency in the State’s civil/public service.
Before now, cleaners, gardeners, drivers and clerical officers were employed directly by government to carry out needed services within the operational briefs and obligations of MDAs.
Unfortunately, there came a period when State actors began a dangerous scheme that started to discourage and eventually replace the age long practice of direct employment of these categories of workers in the civil and public service.
The result was the emergence of the culture of outsourcing these jobs to Employment Agencies which more often than none make bogus claims of being effective and efficient in handling the above services through outsourcing than when the employees are directly engaged to do same jobs.
The practice of jobs outsourcing in Nigeria began with some blue chip companies in the oil and gas industry when managements of such organizations for whatever reasons found it more convenient to outsource the services cleaners, security/gate men, drivers etc to some choice Employment Agencies who could make moderate profit from the appreciable amount of money paid on each of the outsourced worker and therefore promote growth and industry in the labour market.
This practice was the exclusive preserve of high paying companies who for some legal issues relating to insurance and pensions, prefered outsourcing to direct employment.
Government and it’s agencies were never associated with the outsourcing business given the general poor remuneration for civil and public servants especially those on the lower rung of the service ladder, unlike what obtained in the oil and gas sector where even outsourced worker’s salary is higher than that of a director in the public service.
There came a period when greed and avarice became the only driving motive of authorities of State and they decided to outsource these category of jobs to friends and associates to further deplete the pay package of the unfortunate workers who would have no choice but accept the pay package however little due to high rate of unemployment in the country.
Some of the outsourced cleaners we have been made aware before now earned as low as N20,000 a month, no thanks to the last administration in the state.
The Okpebholo’s administration from its onset on November 12, 2024 left no one in doubt as to its resolve to put the people first in its policy directions and programmes, including giving everyone his due rights.
We have seen the restoration of several privileges either withheld or denied by the previous administration in the state being restored in a most generous manner by the Okpebholo’s government.
What this only tells is that the government is in tune with growing global momentum for the concept that advances social justice and its adaptation as the central focus guiding all national and international policies.
This idea has gained traction and resonated with the Okpebholo’s administration as it effectively deployed it to earn public confidence and trust needed to drive the State’s economies and to make it function more cohesively when social justice is prioritized.
It must be stated that buse of labour laws resulting in the casualization of jobs which otherwise should be formal, widespread labor insecurity, high inequality, made worst by the insensitivity to alleviating the plight of the low income earners by greedy state actors in the last administration is condemnable.
Governor Okpebholo one can say has started to adopt these initiatives by reinforcing institutions and policies that truly advance social justice in this regard with the direct employment of these category of workers who hadn’t been considered for any formal hiring for over a decade past.
This is seen as a major priority thrust in global development index and the present administration isn’t lagging behind in that regard.
It’s trite noting here that proposals to advance social justice include improving inclusive and effective governance of work, ensuring employment opportunities and lifelong learning, reforming institutions for fairer labor market outcomes, and extending social protections across peoples’ lifetimes.
The Governor’s directive that cleaners be employed into the State civil service as against using consultants and contractors is a pointer in this direction as the employed staff will earn salary, enjoy the benefits there to including automatic enrollment into the Edo Health insurance scheme and pension benefits when they retire.
All of these weren’t there for the outsourced staff to benefit as the consultants and contractors were into business and contract with government. They were paid to employ cleaners to clean government offices, and their take home pay then was not encouraging and couldn’t take them home.
According to the Edo State Head of Service, “Gov Okpebholo was not pleased with the arrangement of the Obaseki administration, and as such instructed that a direct employment should be embarked upon to ensure Edo people were recruited into the State civil and public service and get paid the N70,000 minimum wage.
“Before now, cleaners in the State were receiving between N20,000 to N30,000 per month. They were paid less because consultants are businessmen trading to make gains but the Okpebholo administration decided to change the narrative by giving direct employment to enhance the lives of the people and ensure they enjoy good and practical governance.
“These cleaners then under the previous administration were not government workers but workers to different contractors and consultants and job security was not guaranteed as workers under consultancy services could be sacked unceremoniously”, Okungbowa added”, the Head of Service explained.
The HOS further disclosed that typical with the attitude of the present administration, all those employed have been given appointment letters and they cut across the three Senatorial Districts of the State.
“This is not the only batch that will be employed by the Edo State government as there will be another batch coming up. We want to bring in the number of cleaners required to clean government offices. 360 have been employed now and also been assigned to their various government ministries and prarastatals”, he said.
Okungbowa said the previous administration had a contractual agreement with consultants and contractors who could hire and fire at anytime it pleased them.
He emphasized that those employed by this present administration are to receive the N70,000 minimum wage paid to all Edo State workers showing the Okpebholo administration’s commitment to delivering good governance in all sectors.
The HOS expectedly on behalf of Edo State workers thanked the Governor Okpebholo for embarking on the people-centered initiative of employing a good number of Edo people into the Service and ensuring they benefit from the minimum wage as opposed to what was obtainable in the previous administration.
He however assured the Governor that the Edo workforce is grateful for his commitment to improving their welfare and have resolved to put in their best in the discharge of assigned duties.
Get a premium automobile insurance coverage for your vehicle for as low as #15000 only and claim up to #3,000,000 in damages @Zenith Insurance To signup: WhatsApp/Call: +2349028313757
