…Labour, Kaduna government locked in marathon meeting
….No going back on strike in FCT Area Councils – NULGE; Why Nasarawa is yet to implement new wage, by gov
….Katsina, workers reach agreement; C’River workers battle ready; We won’t be going on strike, says Oyo NLC
The Kaduna, Nasarawa, Cross River and Katsina state governments on Saturday activated their conflict resolution machinery to help avert the strike called for tomorrow by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in parts of the country over non-implementation of the new minimum wage.
Top government officials in the states launched into long hours of meeting with labour leaders to stop the strike from taking place.
The NLC late Friday directed workers in 14 states and the Federal Capital Territory to proceed on indefinite strike from Monday to press home the implementation of the new minimum wages.The affected states are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo and Nasarawa. Others are Kaduna, Katsina, Oyo, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.
The General Secretary of the NLC, Emmanuel Ugboaja, in a circular to presidents and general secretaries of NLC affiliates, said the industrial action was meant to “compel implementation of the new national minimum wage in any state that has not complied by the end of November 2024.
“This position was reinforced by the CWC in Kano on the 27th of November 2024.”
However, the Ekiti State Government said it was listed in error as it had resolved the wage issue with its workers, while the Katsina State Government announced that it had reached an agreement with its workforce to pay N70,000 as minimum wage.
The Imo and Oyo chapters of the NLC said their members would not be going on strike while the NLC in the FCT said it was ready for action.
Special Adviser to Kaduna State Governor on Labour Matters, Comrade Adamu Samaila, told The Nation yesterday that government was doing all within its power to resolve the issue with labour leaders in the state.
“As I speak with you, we are holding a meeting with the leadership of the NLC and TUC to resolve the matter,” Samaila said on the phone yesterday.
That was after the Chairman of the NLC in the state, Comrade Ayuba Magaji Suleiman, had protested alleged foot dragging by the state government on the matter.
He accused the government of failing to fulfill its pledge to commence implementation of the new minimum wage in November.
He said: “This action represents a blatant failure to adopt the negotiated consequential adjustments in the payment of the November salary. Such conduct not only undermines the welfare of workers but also constitutes a serious breach of public trust.
“The Kaduna State Council of the NLC views this paltry increment as an affront on the dignity of labour.
“It is unacceptable for a government to make lofty public promises only to renege on its commitments through half-hearted measures that fail to meet even the most basic needs of workers.
“To this end, the Council demands the immediate implementation of the negotiated consequential adjustments and the signing of a memorandum of understanding.
“Anything less would constitute a betrayal of the hardworking workforce of the state.
“We have resolved during our SEC meeting on Tuesday, 27th November, to comply with the directive of the National Executive Council, which mandated a strike action should any state government fail to fully implement the new minimum wage by 30th November, 2024.
He accused the government of failing to fulfill its pledge to commence implementation of the new minimum wage in November.
He said: “This action represents a blatant failure to adopt the negotiated consequential adjustments in the payment of the November salary. Such conduct not only undermines the welfare of workers but also constitutes a serious breach of public trust.
“The Kaduna State Council of the NLC views this paltry increment as an affront on the dignity of labour.
“It is unacceptable for a government to make lofty public promises only to renege on its commitments through half-hearted measures that fail to meet even the most basic needs of workers.
“To this end, the Council demands the immediate implementation of the negotiated consequential adjustments and the signing of a memorandum of understanding.
“Anything less would constitute a betrayal of the hardworking workforce of the state.
“We have resolved during our SEC meeting on Tuesday, 27th November, to comply with the directive of the National Executive Council, which mandated a strike action should any state government fail to fully implement the new minimum wage by 30th November, 2024.
He accused the government of failing to fulfill its pledge to commence implementation of the new minimum wage in November.
He said: “This action represents a blatant failure to adopt the negotiated consequential adjustments in the payment of the November salary. Such conduct not only undermines the welfare of workers but also constitutes a serious breach of public trust.
“The Kaduna State Council of the NLC views this paltry increment as an affront on the dignity of labour.
“It is unacceptable for a government to make lofty public promises only to renege on its commitments through half-hearted measures that fail to meet even the most basic needs of workers.
“To this end, the Council demands the immediate implementation of the negotiated consequential adjustments and the signing of a memorandum of understanding.
“Anything less would constitute a betrayal of the hardworking workforce of the state.
“We have resolved during our SEC meeting on Tuesday, 27th November, to comply with the directive of the National Executive Council, which mandated a strike action should any state government fail to fully implement the new minimum wage by 30th November, 2024.
“For us, Sunday, 1st December, 2024, is sacrosanct, especially in the light of this obvious charade.”
Suspense as Labour, Govt meet in Cross River
Representatives of the Cross River State Government and organised labour also met on the new wage in Calabar yesterday.
The negotiation is expected to continue today, but except an agreement is reached, the NLC seems prepared to proceed with the strike plan.
The Special Adviser to the State Governor on Labour and Productivity, Mr. Clarkson Out, confirmed to The Nation yesterday that the talks between the two sides were in progress.
“I can’t brief you until we’re done with this meeting tomorrow. Wait till tomorrow, let’s finish, I will brief you,” he said when he was contacted last night.
The outcome of the meeting will determine labour’s next line of action as NLC chairman in the state, Mr. Monday Ogbodum, told the News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) that workers were ready for the strike.
“Yes, we are still in talk with the government. We had a meeting on Thursday and another one on Friday that ended late in the evening,” NAN quoted him as saying.
He added: “There is going to be another meeting today (Saturday), but that is not to say things are well, though the government has shown some level of seriousness.
“Our position is that even if we sign any document or agreement today, that does not still amount to implementation.”
Nasarawa Deputy Governor in last-minute parley with Labour
Deputy Governor Emmanuel Akabe was at the head of the government delegation that met with labour leaders in the state yesterday in Lafia.
Akabe doubles as the Chairman of the committee set up by Governor Abdullahi Sule to advise government on the implementation of the new minimum wage.
DECENCY GLOBAL NEWS gathered that Saturday’s meeting was to enable the two sides finalise their positions on the template for the new minimum wage.
Governor Sule had while presenting the 2025 budget of his government to the state assembly said the state was yet to implement the new minimum wage because the committee set up on the matter was yet to present its report to him.
He promised that once the report was presented to him, the new minimum wage would be implemented as the needed funds were already included in the 2025 budget.
Of the N382,567,843,592.03 the government proposes to spend in the new year, N159.97 billion (41.82%) is for recurrent expenditure while N222.60 billion (58.18%) is for capital expenditure.
Katsina, labour reach agreement; implementation to begin this month
Following a nine-hour long meeting in Katsina yesterday, the state government and organised labour reached an agreement for the implementation of the new minimum wage to begin this month.
The decision was jointly announced by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abdullahi Garba Faskari, and the state chapter of the NLC.
Faskari said the new wage “is expected to provide much-needed relief to civil servants grappling with rising living costs.’
He said government planned to streamline the payroll system to ensure a smooth transition and prompt payment of the adjusted salaries.
Labour also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the negotiations and commended government for its willingness to engage in constructive dialogue and respond to the demands of workers in the state.
We’ll not be going on strike – Oyo NLC
The Oyo State chapter of the NLC said yesterday that it would not be going on strike tomorrow following a decision to that effect at an enlarged meeting of the State Executive Council (SEC) and State Advisory Council.
The meeting reviewed the minimum wage issue and came to the conclusion that the government committee saddled with the responsibility of sorting out the consequential adjustment be allowed to complete the assignment.
The NLC Secretary, Com. Aribatise Adebayo, said: “The SEC and SAC of the NLC Oyo State Council met on Thursday 28th November, 2024 and discussed extensively on the New Minimum Wage Implementation in Oyo State and later concluded that all forms of industrial actions be put on hold since the committee set up by the government is already having a robust discussion on a favourable consequential adjustment in accordance with the pronounced N80,000 and acceptable salary table for the entire workforce in the state.
“In view of this, the Oyo State Council of NLC will not be going on strike so as to give room for the committee on consequential adjustment to get the table completed with needed endorsement for implementation within the next couple of days.
“To this end, we wish to call on the entire workers of Oyo State to remain calm while the arrangement for a robust minimum wage table for Oyo State is concluded by the joint committee of the State Government and the Labour movement.”
Why we’ll not go on strike in Imo, by NLC
The Imo State chapter of the NLC said there is no cause for workers in the state to go on strike as an agreement on the wage issue had already been signed by government and labour.
The local chairman of NLC, Comrade Uche Chigemezu, said: “We are not going on strike. We have signed an agreement with the state government.”
He said the NLC national leadership circular listing Imo as one of the defaulting states was issued before the conclusion of the agreement between government and labour.
FCT NULGE: No going back on indefinite strike
However, area council workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will join the strike, according to the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) boss in the territory, Abdullahi Kabbi.
He said: “We are going to comply because we have been given a directive from our national bodies. When I say national bodies I mean the NLC and the secretary of local government employees (NULGE).
“We have been served the letter that we should go on indefinite strike if we have not been paid our minimum wage arrears.
“In the FCT, we have minimum wage implementation yet to be achieved and the arrears. That is where we are now.
“We met with the area council chairmen and they were saying that yes, it is a national circular, but they should give them one month or two to implement the minimum wage.
“We don’t want to agree with that because many times, if we give the area council chairmen privilege like that, they will abuse it.
“We urge every one of our members to stay at home until our leaders hold their meeting on the next line of action. We will fight for their right.”
Although FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike approved the implementation of N70,000 minimum wage for FCTA workers with arrears, the Area Council chairmen are yet to commence action.
Kabbi said Local Education Authorities (LEA) and all the six area councils will join in the strike.
An official of one of the area councils said in confidence that they do not have the resources to pay now and they need more time to put resources together.
NLC listed Ekiti in error, says commissioner
Ekiti State Information Commissioner Taiwo Olatunbosun said his state was listed in error as a defaulter by the NLC, adding that Governor Biodun Oyebanji approved the N70,000 minimum wage and its consequential adjustment effective from December 1.
This, he said, followed the signing of an agreement for implementation by the leaders of the organised labour and the state government.
“Ekiti has since signed the agreement following the approval of Mr Governor more than a week ago. If the national body (of NLC) has listed Ekiti as part of the states to embark on strike, that must have been done in error,” Olatunbosun said.
“And with all due respect to the leaders of labour union in Ekiti, I’m very sure they have communicated appropriately with the national leadership specifically on the N70,000 new minimum wage that is approved by law at the national level.
“In Ekiti, we didn’t stop at that. We have given other cadre of workers from level 2 to level 6 133% consequential increment while we gave workers from level 7 to 10 110% increment.
“We also gave workers from level 12 to 14 90% consequential adjustment to their salary. And civil servants from level 15 to 16 got 77% while level 17 got 70% adjustment.
“We didn’t stop at that; we also considered the pensioners. We increased their monthly benefits with N20,000 across all cadres,” he added.
Echoing Olatunbosun’s position, the NLC chairman, Comr. Kolapo Olatunde, said that Governor Oyebanji-led government has set machinery in motion for the implementation of N70,000 minimum wage and its consequential adjustments.
In a chat with our reporter, Comr. Kolapo Olatunde said all documents have been forwarded to the national headquarters on the agreement reached with the state government for the implementation of the new minimum wage.
He confirmed that organised labour in the state won’t joined the strike, added that all categories of workers in the state have been adequately captured in the consequential adjustments arising from the new minimum wage.
