Anambra: Implement Minimum Wage Or Have The State Shutdown – Labour Threatens Obiano

The Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, has been given fourteen days ultimatum by the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state to agree on the new minimum Wage or have the state shutdown.

The Anambra chapter in a statement released at the end of it’s State Executive Council meeting on the implementation of the new minimum wage accused Governor Obiano of not implementing the agreed template it reached with the Organised Labour.

NLC condemned the governor for not implementing and disregarding the agreement reached with the organised labour.

The communique was jointly signed by the Chairman of Joint Negotiations Council JNC; Benson Jibike, Chairman of Anambra State chapter of NLC; Jerry Nnubia, Chairman of Anambra State Trade Union Congress TUC; Ifeanyi Okechukwu, acting Secretary of JNC/Secretary of Anambra State Civil Service of Nigeria, Barr. Alex Ebi and Secretary of Nigerian Union Local Government Employees NULGE, Netufo Segun.

The group said, “We are not happy with the government’s implementation of the minimum wage and will proceed on industrial action after the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum if nothing is done to implement the agreed template.”

According to the chairman of JNC, Jibike “On 24th of January 2020, we finalized agreement with government on the new minimum wage increment, but surprisingly workers received their January salaries without the reflection of the agreed scale increment.”

The Chairman of NLC in the state, Nnubia noted that the state has not paid them the new minimum wage, rather it gave bonuses to its workers.

He said, “Before any new salary adjustment, there must be circular and we did not see any.”

“Government just added two and five thousand naira on the salary, and it called it new minimum wage without telling us how it came by the increment. We still believe what government added in the January salary was bonus and not new minimum wage implementation”.