4th February, 2020
The honeymoon is over in Kwara State as the labour unions issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to resolve all issues relating to the new minimum wage.
The Kwara Labour Movement gave the ultimatum in a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Ilorin on Tuesday.
The movement is made up of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC).
The communique was jointly signed by the chairmen of the NLC, TUC and NJC, Alhaji Issa Ore, Mr Kolawole Olumoh and Mallam Saliu Suleiman respectively.
According to the communiqué, labour representatives in the minimum wage committee should reject the minimum wage committee as constituted by the state government.
It also urged workers in the state to go on a three-day fasting and prayers, beginning from Feb. 5, for their demands on the minimum wage to be achieved.
The movement debunked the alleged submission by the state Commissioner for Finance and Planning on a radio programme that the committee had concluded on the table for the new minimum wage in the state.
It commended the workers in the state for their unity and doggedness as well as the commitment of labour leaders to achieving the set goals.
In neighbouring Niger State, workers threatened to go on strike today over minimum wage.
However, Gov. Abubakar Bello was appealed to the workers to shelve the planned strike for peace and industrial harmony.
Bello in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mrs Mary Berje in Minna on Tuesday, said government was working relentlessly to ensure that all pending issues concerning civil servants were addressed swiftly.
He said that negotiations were still ongoing and government was doing its best to improve the living standard of the people in spite of the challenges and paucity of funds.
Bello explained that the state government had commenced implementation of the National Minimum Wage, assuring that its consequential adjustment and arrears would be paid as soon as government and labour concluded negotiations.
“We are still negotiating with labour, we intend to avert the industrial action and we are calling on the organised labour to rescind its decision to embark on the strike and allow negotiations to continue,’’ he said.