By Olaitan Ibrahim
Organised Labour in four states and the Federal Capital Territory have expressed optimism that their state governments will begin the payment of the new minimum wage by January ending.
This was after the Oyo State Government announced that it had begun the payment of N80,000 minimum wage to workers.
While Imo, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom states governments and the FCT have set January ending for workers to receive a raise in salaries, workers in Ebonyi and Cross River states, among others, are not certain about when their government will commence paying new emoluments.
Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Ogun, Kogi, among others, started paying the new wage in 2024. Some other states, however, agreed to begin payment in 2025.
President Bola Tinubu had in July 2024 approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for workers, including civil servants, and pledged to review the wage every three years.
However, Labour’s plan to go on strike on December 1, 2024, in states that had yet to pay the new wage failed as some state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress withdrew at the last minute.
States that dissociated themselves from the strikes were Oyo, Imo, Sokoto, Katsina and Akwa Ibom, while Kaduna, Nasarawa, Zamfara, FCT confirmed their participation in the industrial action.
To quell the anxiety trailing the delay in the payment of the new minimum wage, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, in December 2024, promised that many states and the Federal Capital Territory Administration would implement the new national minimum wage by January 2025.
He made the promise when a delegation of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria paid a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.
While assuring the delegation, Dingyadi called for patience, even as he explained that his ministry was evaluating the compliance level of various state governments as the implementation had just started.
Meanwhile, the NLC chapters in Imo and Sokoto states told Sunday PUNCH on Friday that they were expecting their governments to pay the new wage considering the rise in the prices of food and other items.
The Chairman of the Imo State NLC, Uche Nwigwe, said workers were looking forward to the payment.
He said, “We know that prices of goods have gone high, but we’re looking forward to it. Let us collect it first, and then we will know the reaction of Imo workers as it concerns the next line of action.”
Similarly, the Sokoto State chapter of the NLC expressed confidence that the state government would pay the N70,000 new minimum wage by the end of January.
The Secretary of the union, Hamisu Hussaini, said the NLC and state government had agreed on the commencement of the payment.
He said, “Yes, based on our discussion with the state government, the new minimum wage will commence this month (January). To make the implementation run smoothly, the state government has commenced the verification of its workforce. The ongoing exercise will not affect the implementation as we have already trashed that out with the state government.”
In Akwa Ibom State, the government promised to begin the payment of a new minimum wage of N80,000 to its 45,985 verified public servants in January.
The state Governor, Umo Eno, who authorised the payment, said it would take effect from November 1, 2024.
The TUC chairman in the state, Dominic Abang, said public servants were anticipating the payment of the new wage to cushion the inflationary trend.
He said, “Despite the soaring cost of living, the Akwa Ibom workers are waiting in anticipation of the payment of the new minimum wage. It’s something they have been expecting for a long time.”
Also, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, FCT chapter, Kabir Abdullahi, expressed hope that payments would begin in the coming week, noting that the area councils had yet to confirm receipt of minimum wage payments from the Federal Government.
“We are hoping that when they pay salaries, they will pay arrears as well, based on the agreement. The Federal Government has shared allocations; perhaps it has not dropped in their accounts yet. Only the councils can know if it has dropped or not, and it is only when they pay salaries that we will know.”
Oyo pays new wage
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government deposited a total sum of N12bn into the pockets of its workers on Friday, indicating the commencement of the new minimum wage.
In a statement on Saturday by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, the N12bn paid on Friday was a result of a promise kept by Governor ‘Seyi Makinde on the N80,000 minimum wage for the state workers from January 1, 2025.
He said, “One of the implications of the new wage is that workers on Grade levels one to six now enjoy a minimum of N50,000 increment, while the salaries of those on Grade level 17 shoot up by over N180,000.”
Other govs should pay – NLC
Speaking, the National Treasurer of the NLC, Hakeem Ambali, called on state governors not only to implement the new minimum wage, but also pay outstanding arrears, stressing that workers should not bear the burden of delayed negotiations.
While describing the payment of the minimum wage as a legal obligation that must take effect as required by law, Ambali expressed confidence that other governors who had yet to pay would honour their commitment in the interest of industrial harmony.
“Labour is hopeful that these governors will pay the arrears and the new wage because it is a function of the law and it must take effect. I believe they (governors) will honour the agreement in the best interest of industrial peace and harmony,” Ambali said.
He said to cushion the impact of inflation, the Federal Government needed to embark on another wage adjustment and additional economic interventions.
Ambali argued that the new wage structure had failed to provide real economic relief for Nigerian workers.
The TUC National Deputy President, Tommy Etim-Okon, warned that it was necessary for states to pay the new minimum wage considering the hardship in the country, including the recent increase in the telecoms tariff.
He said, “Any governor that fails to meet up with the payment of minimum wage to the workers is automatically an enemy of his own government because payment of salary is a right, it is not a privilege and to whom much is given, much is also expected, you cannot expect much when you are not giving much.
“We have already asked all the state branches to be intentional in engaging the government, aside from the minimum wage, the consequential adjustment is the real thing because it is the consequential adjustment that will determine the pay based on grade level and steps.
“Every commencement of the payment must have arrears whether they want to commence in March, let the arrears take effect from the effective date.”