Osamagbe Imadiyi
The National Labour Congress (NLC) has reaffirmed its intention to take firm action against states that do not enact the new minimum wage by the deadline of October 31.
In a phone conversation, Chris Onyeka, the NLC’s assistant general secretary, emphasized that the Congress would not put up with any more delays or inefficiencies in the procedure.
He added that the consequential wage adjustment was an important procedure and that the NLC expected states to handle it honestly and diligently, making sure that no worker was underpaid.
According to him, “We set a deadline that everything must be finished by the end of this month.” Those that have not begun implementation will face difficulties by the end of the month. They will have problems with us.
Many of the 36 states are in a race against time as the October 31 deadline for implementing the N70,000 minimum wage draws near. Some states have finished negotiating wage levels with organized labor, while others are still finalizing their procedures.According to recent reports, there are also unpaid arrears associated with the new wage that need to be settled between the federal and state governments and labor.
The highest minimum wage of N85,000 has been offered by Lagos and Rivers states, followed by Delta (N77,500) and Ogun (N77,000). Here is how other states will pay: Edo, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kwara, Anambra, Adamawa, and Kano will all pay N70,000, while Ondo, Kogi, and Gombe will pay N73,000, N72,500, and N71,500, respectively.
In response to a question about the Union’s meeting with the Federal Government and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) last week regarding the gasoline price increase, Onyeka stated: “A communiqué from a joint NEC meeting should come out either this evening or tomorrow morning.”
