The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has instructed workers in 14 states to embark on an indefinite strike starting Monday in response to the failure to implement the new minimum wage and continued payment of outdated salaries.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new Minimum Wage Act into law in July, raising the national monthly minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000. This came after extensive negotiations among the government, organized labor, and private sector representatives, during which labor’s initial demand for N250,000 was reduced to N70,000.
Despite the law’s enactment nearly six months ago, only 23 states have implemented the new wage structure, leaving out several others, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement issued Friday, the NLC noted:
“Recall that the NEC of 8th November 2024 in Port Harcourt directed that industrial action to compel implementation of the new national minimum wage should commence 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.
“Flowing from the above it is our information that some states have not commenced the said implementation as workers are still being paid on the old structure and there is no subsisting agreement to show a date of commencement of implementations.
“They are as follows: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory, Imo, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Oyo, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara states.
“We therefore request that you direct your state councils in the following states to proceed on the said needed actions to compel the implementation as resolved by the NEC & CWC.
“Please do oblige us with copies of your letters to your state councils in this regard for effective mobilisation.”
The NLC emphasized that the strike aims to push for full compliance with the minimum wage law and address workers’ grievances over delayed salary adjustments.
Post A Comment: