. . . NLC asks for full payment of minimum wage

By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has threatened salary cut for workers missing work on Mondays in the state due to the sit-at-home exercise.

Addressing workers at the Workers’ Day Celebration held at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, Soludo warned that government will begin to cut the salaries of workers that fail to show up to work Mondays in the name of ‘sit at home’

He said: “Monday sit-at-home has become an excuse for workers to stop coming to work on Mondays, it cannot continue.

“You cannot be waiting just four-four days and earn full salary. We must get back to working on Monday for the government. If we do not get to work, we must not get our full salary. We must be paid proportionally to the number of days we work.

“You must do your work and we cannot be working for 70 percent and earn 110 percent. We will cut your salaries when you fail to come to work on Monday.”

Soludo, who recently increased workers’ salaries by 10 percent, noted that the state government had been running on N88 billion budget deficit for the past one year.

While stressing that the 2023 budget was predicated on N4 billion internally generated revenue every month, he regretted that the state has only been generating N2 billion.

According to Soludo, “The state is supposed to be getting N5bn from federal government but it is getting less.

“Buckle down and work towards generating revenue to the government in order to take care of the workers’ welfare and other pressing issues.

“There is pressure on me to increase salaries and down size workforce, labour leaders should study the proposal.”

On its part, the State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) regretted that the State Government is yet to achieve full payment of the new minimum wage that was passed into during the immediate past Willie Obiano administration in 2019.

It pleaded with Governor Soludo to look into the agreement of January 24, 2020 between the state government and organised labour over the full implementation of new minimum wage and its consequential adjustment and proffer a way of implementing it.

The state chairman of NLC, Emeka Nwafor, disclosed this in his address on the occasion of the Workers’ Day Celebration held at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, saying: “Workers pressure is becoming increasingly unbearable and we may not continue to hold them.

“Congress desires to bring to your kind attention that the new minimum wage of N30,000 and its consequential adjustment has not been fully implemented in the state.”

He however decried the condition of pensioners in the state, noting that many of them are dying without the payment of their retirement benefits.

Nwafor urged the governor to look into the case of retirees in the state, saying: “Congress appreciates Mr. Governor for the efforts made so far in the gradual settlement of arrears of gratuity and pension in the state as promised in the last May Day celebration.

“Congress passionately appeals to you Mr. Governor, Sir, to graciously increase the fund meant for the settlement of these gratuity to be substantial enough.

“This is to enable the retirees start off something that will help them take care of their old age and families. It is painful to report that some of these retirees are dying of hunger and, most times, they find it difficult to take care of their families and dependents.

“It is on record that since 2014 the contributory pension scheme started in the state, it seems that the scheme was designed not to succeed as monies deducted from workers’ salaries were not remitted regularly to the appropriate quarters.

“The non-adherence to the pension scheme laws has made the organized labour to take a stand that the scheme be scrap and monies deducted from workers refunded back to them.

“We remind you, Mr Governor, Sir, that this decision is yet to see the light of the day. Congress therefore requests for our dear Governor’s pronouncement stopping further deductions from workers’ salaries in the name of the pension scheme.”

While hailing Soludo for his efforts in workers’ welfare, the State NLC Chairman urged the State Government to implement the new retirement age for teachers as obtained in some other states, 40 years of service or 65 years of age, whichever comes first, reminding the governor that states less viable than Anambra had already started the implementation..

He also requested Governor’s approval for a parcel of land to be allocated for the construction of Labour House in the state.

“We are seriously in need of a secretariat and event centre that will House the services and needs of our affiliates unions.

“This is what is obtained in other states of the federation, including Imo, Abia, Delta and Rivers etc. We shall be eternally gratefully if our dear Solution Governor will kindly and graciously approve this our age-long request. This will help cement the relationship that has been existing between labour and government in the state,” the State NLC Chairman said.

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