New minimum wage: Kwara workers threaten to go strike over non-payment

Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at 11:38 AM by Onyirioha Nnamdi

- Industrial action is looming in Kwara state over non-payment of the new minimum wage

- The industrial action is to be embarked on by civil servants in the state who came to the decision on Tuesday, December 17

- Labour unions in the state said that the proposed move is to get the governor of the state, Abdulfatah Ahmed, to comply with the federal government's directive

Following an emergency meeting on Tuesday, December 17, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Kwara said that workers in the state will embark on strike as the government has refused to pay the new minimum wage.

The unions said that Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has failed to comply with the federal government's directive on the new payment structure for civil servants, Channels TV reports.

Speaking on the issue, Kola Olumoh, the head of TUC in the state, said: “We are ready and willing to ensure that the state government pays the minimum wage of N30,000 by the virtue of the adjustment that has been made and signed by labour.

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“We hope and expect that the state government will be magnanimous as a way of giving back to the workers, the dividends of having voted them in to pay us our N30,000 minimum wage before December 31st.”

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the TUC and the NLC in Ogun state on Monday, December 16, said they had resolved to embark on two days warning strike with effect from Thursday, December 19.

The labour unions stated that they won't postpone the planned action unless the state government invite them for discussion on consequential adjustment on the new N30,000 minimum wage on or before Wednesday, December 18.

The workers stated this in a joint press statement signed by the state leaderships of both NLC and TUC, Comrade Bankole Emmanuel and Comrade Fajobi Olubunmi.