NLC gives Obiano 14-day ultimatum to implement minimum wage
By our Correspondent
As the issue of the news national minimum wage continued to linger, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC Anambra State chapter has charged Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano to implement the agreed template on new minimum wage within 14 days or risk industrial action.
Anambra state chapter, NLC in a communique issued at the end of its State Executive Council meeting on the implementation of the new minimum wage and it’s a consequential adjustment, accused Governor Obiano of not implementing the agreed template it reached with the organised labour.
The state NLC expressed disappointment over the non-implementation and disregard for the agreement reached with organised labour.
According to labour, “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”
Chairman of JNC, Benson Jibike, noted that on 24th of January 2020, they 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.
Also, Chairman of State NLC, Jerry Nnubia on his part said they did not believe that government had paid them the new minimum wage, rather what it did was just like giving bonuses to workers.
He asserted that before any new salary adjustment, there must be circular, saying they did not see any document regards to salary increase.
“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,” he said.
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.