As the October deadline for states yet to begin implementation of the new N70,000 minimum wage draws near, organised labour has vowed to ensure the states face industrial unrest, adding that it will not take the situation lightly.
However, the Niger State Council of NLC expressed readiness to accept a delay in the payment of October 2024 salary to facilitate the implementation of the new wage.
The Guardian gathered that while many of the states have concluded talks with organised labour on what they could pay, some are still in the process of consequential adjustments.
The highest minimum wage so far to be paid by the states is N85,000 from Lagos and Rivers states, though the wage of Lagos was solely announced by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on air without agreement with the state’s tripartite committee.
However, the state and labour are expected to meet today to properly negotiate, even as the workers have said the N85,000 announced by Sanwo-Olu fell short of economic realities.
While Delta said it would be paying N77,500, Ogun agreed on N77,000. Similarly, Ondo announced N73,000; Kogi N72,500; Gombe N71,500; Edo, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kwara, Anambra, Adamawa and Kano remained at N70,000.
Head of Media, NLC, Benson Upah, said labour resolved to wait till the end of October before deciding on the next steps to take. If at the end of October, the situation remains as it is, he said, labour would take appropriate action.
“As of now, no state has said it will not pay; we are still in October. Let us wait till the end of the month. We have engaged with state councils, and while some have concluded, most are still computing the consequential adjustments. Until the month ends, we will come up with what to do .
“The N70,000 minimum wage is a law by the National Assembly and signed into law by the President of the country. There are consequences for those who decide to breach the law. We shall also handle such people, whether public or private, in our ways within the ambit of the law,” he said.
Niger NLC Chairman, ldrees Lafene, told newsmen in Minna, over the weekend, that the congress had written to the state government on its decision to wait for a delayed October salary if the new minimum wage would be implemented. It insisted that labour would not take anything less than the minimum wage for October.
The NLC leadership, while assuring that the state government would implement the new minimum wage soon, said labour had been meeting with state officials on the matter and would also meet today to iron out some grey areas.
He had said, “Organised labour in Niger State has advised the state government that if it cannot go further than what the Federal Government has implemented, it can simply adopt that of the Federal Government for the benefit of all.”
Lafene stressed that the state NLC had met with Governor Mohammed Bago before he travelled out of the state and that he assured them that there would not be a problem of implementation at the state level. He said his fear was at the local council level, where the staff strength was almost six times bigger than that of the state government, considering that local council autonomy would start this month.
The NLC boss explained that they were also looking for other options to see how local councils could implement the new minimum wage fully because whatever agreement they signed with the state government would be binding on them.
