Minimum Wage: Labour Threatens State Governors Over Implementation

Labour Takes Minimum Wage Battle To State Level

The organized labour in Nigeria has called for the impeachment of state governors who are not ready to pay the N30,000 minimum wage to workers.

It also appealed to state Houses of Assembly to support the call by labour on the implementation of the new minimum wage.

General-Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Emmanuel Ugboaja, made the appeal while answering questions from journalists on Sunday in Lagos.

The labour leader also maintained that all states in the country had the capacity to pay.

“It is criminal to say you cannot pay the new minimum wage.

“Some of these leaders ride in private jet, so they can pay,’’ NAN quoted Ugboaja as saying.

He also called on the federal government to prevail on the state governors to implement the new wage regime.

Naija News recalls President Muhammadu Buhari signed the N30,000 minimum wage law on April 18.

On October 18, after series of meetings and negotiations between the labour and government on the consequential adjustment 0n workers’ salaries, both parties agreed on 23.2 percentage increase for workers on grade level 07 and 20 per cent for those on grade level 08, while 19 per cent would be received by workers on grade level 09, sixteen per cent for those from levels 10 to 14 and 14 per cent for grade levels 15 to 17.

However, following the agreement, state governors after the Nigeria Governors Forum meeting last week, said the federal government could not negotiate on their behalf on the implementation of the minimum wage at state levels.

They added that the consequential increase would be based on the capacity of each state and not what labour agreed with the federal government.