The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) declared on Monday that all workers at the Federal, states and private sector must be paid with the new N30,000 national minimum wage salary structure by the end of May.

Besides, the Congress said the arrears of the salary, from when President Muhammadu Buhari signed it into law on April 18, must also be paid along with May salaries.

The NLC also warned that it would make any state who fails to commence implementation of the new minimum wage ungovernable and unbearable for such defaulting governors.

NLC leadership made this position known at a march tagged a “March for Jobs, Labour Rights and Shared Prosperity” in Abuja on Monday; as part of the activities lined up to mark the May Day Celebrations.

The march was led by two Deputy Presidents of NLC; Comrade Najeem Yasin, who is the National President of the National Union of Road Transport Union (NURTW), and Comd. Nasiru Idris, who is also the National President Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).

Speaking at the rally, Comrade Nasiru Idris, called on state governors to put all machinery in motion for immediate implementation of the new minimum wage.

“We want to call on Nigeria governors to put machinery in place to ensure that they immediately commence implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage for workers in Nigeria

“Also, we are warning that the NLC and TUC will not condone any governor that fails to implement it for his workers. We also want to assure workers that any governor that refuses to implement the new minimum wage for workers; we are going to make the state unbearable for him.

“We will do anything humanly possible and we are going to use our might and strengthen to ensure that they implement the minimum wage.”

Specifically, he called on the FCT Minister and the Permanent Secretary, to set the ball rolling by being the first to implement the new minimum wage for workers of FCT.

Also speaking, the President of Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), Comd. Lawrence Amechi said the labour movement has decided to go round Abuja to awaken workers consciousness on the May Day celebration.

He said: “Already in the May Day address, which is going to be read by our principals, we are going to urge the governors to immediately start the implementation of the minimum wage; because Mr President has signed it into law on the April 18, and the effective day is April. So, we are already in arrears of few days or few months.”

Comd. Amaechi added: “So, by the end of May, we expect that every worker will go home with the salary. In fact, most of the problems that we are having are with the state governors and we have asked them to cut down their excesses and pay the new wage.

“Any state that refuses to pay, we are going to take it head-long, we are going to occupy that state. So, by the end of May, if no government has paid the minimum wage and the arrears cumulatively, it is going to be a war between labour and that particular government and we hope that they will do the needful

“For the May celebration, we are going to ask about the implementation of the new minimum wage, that the employers of Labour will implement this minimum wage and some other issues like social justice and the creation of more jobs will be our major focus.”

•Text (excluding headline) courtesy of Nigerian Tribune.

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