NLC Expresses Anger as 30 States Fail to Implement ₦35,000 Wage Increase

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) expressed frustration on Wednesday as it revealed that over 30 states, representing about 90 per cent of the country, have failed to pay the ₦35,000 wage award as agreed by the Federal Government and organized labour.

Labour leaders in Sokoto, Kano, Benue, and Bayelsa states disclosed to journalists that their respective state governments had defaulted on the payment of the wage award, with Gombe, Ogun, and Osun states paying only ₦15,000 or ₦10,000.

Chris Onyeka, the NLC Assistant General Secretary, criticized state governors for unilaterally deciding to give workers ₦10,000 without negotiating with the workers, as stipulated in the agreement.

The wage award payment was part of the agreements between the organized labour and the Federal Government to mitigate the impact of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).

In 2023, the NLC and Trade Union Congress reached an agreement with the Federal Government for a six-month ₦35,000 wage award for workers, as well as a review of the minimum wage in 2024.

President Bola Tinubu of Niger State urged state governors on Tuesday to continue paying workers the wage award until negotiations on a new minimum wage are concluded.

However, Onyeka lamented that about 90 per cent of states, equivalent to over 30 states, were not paying the wage award to their workers, emphasizing that the process for the wage award must include negotiations with workers.

In Gombe State, the General Secretary of the NLC, Ibrahim Fika, confirmed that workers had only received ₦10,000 so far, as the state government had not implemented the full wage award.

Fika expressed hope that workers would be paid the agreed amount in due time to alleviate their hardship.

Labour leaders in Sokoto and Kebbi states stated that workers in the two states had also not received the wage award, but negotiations were ongoing with their respective state governments.

The NLC chapter in Bayelsa State reported that the state government had not been paying its workers the wage award and had not given a definitive response to the issue.

In Ekiti State, the Trade Union Congress Chairman, Sola Adigun, noted that while the state government had been implementing the wage award since December last year, the amount paid was lower than expected.

Osun State has been paying the wage award to workers and retirees since December 2023, with active workers receiving ₦15,000 and retirees ₦10,000.

The Kano State Government has yet to fulfill its promise to pay the ₦20,000 wage award to state and local government workers for six months starting from December 2023.

Efforts to reach the Kano State Commissioner of Information, Baba Dantiye, were unsuccessful, as his phone was switched off.

Labour in Benue State threatened to escalate the matter to the national secretariat due to the state government’s lack of response to the wage award demand.

The Ogun State TUC Chairman, Akeem Lasisi, stated that the state government had been paying ₦10,000 palliatives to state workers since July 2023, in addition to other benefits.