By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday described the implementation of the national minimum wage in Anambra State as haphazard.

This was disclosed by the state council chairman of the Congress, Comrade Jerry Nnubia, while addressing the Speaker and some members of Anambra State House of Assembly during a protest by the organised labour.

They were protesting against moving minimum wage from the Exclusive list to the Concurrent list.

He expressed worry that if the change is implemented, many state governments will force workers to resign or such workers would accept whatever is offered to them as salary.

Nnubia added: “The minimum wage in Anambra State as far as we are concerned is implemented haphazardly and we don’t want to bother ourselves with that today.

“If the minimum wage of N30,000, which has not been paid in many states, is left for states to decide who gets what as salary, some will ask workers to resign if they do not want to collect what they can pay,” he said.

According to the labour leader, there is need for the country to have a national benchmark for the minimum wage.

“The labour sees the move as a step against the working class in Nigeria. The labour is afraid that some state governments may use it to frustrate workers out of services,” he stressed.

In his reaction, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Uche Okafor, assured the workers that the House will do its best to protect workers in the state.

He said they will add their voices to that of others across the country to ensure Nigerian workers do not suffer.

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