The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has listed the defaulting states as Anambra, Ebonyi, Plateau, Kwara, Kebbi, Niger, Osun, Enugu and Zamfara.
It accused the states of failing to complete talks with the Joint Public Service Negotiation Council (JPSNC) on the implementation of the N18,000 national minimum wage.
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged the JPSNC to intensify efforts in ensuring that states that are deliberately mis-interpreting the Minimum Wage Act are brought to book.
NLC’s Acting General Secretary, Comrade Chris Uyot, said the Congress would visit the states to ascertain their level of compliance.
Uyot said the NLC would this month take a record of all the ongoing issues surrounding the non-implementation of the minimum wage in the identified states and act accordingly.
But Osun State has denied that it was yet to pay the minimum wage as required by the law. It urged the NLC to exclude the state from those it planned to battle.
ASCSN’s Secretary General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal said where state governments implement the minimum wage for levels 1-6, they are not adjusting the wage to balance the ratio.
He added that negotiations are stalled in some states because governments have refused to adjust the ratio between the minimum and maximum wages.
“It is a tragedy. They just added N500, N900 in some cases, they didn’t adjust the ratio,” Lawal said.
The Nation learnt that in Ebonyi State, only levels 1 and 2 have been paid the minimum wage totalling N25,000,while it paid N26,400 to level 8 and N31,000 to level 9, amounting to just about N2000 per month.
Ebonyi workers have asked the government to return to the drawing board and use the relativity chart.
It is a similar case in Niger State, where only levels 1-6 have been paid the minimum wage, while N10,000 per annum is added to the wages of those from level 7 and above.
“That is about N800 per month increase. Even with this N10,000 addition, Niger State Government said they will use a consolidated structure, which means there will no longer be allowances like house rent, transport etc. This has been rejected by the workers,” an official of the state’s labour union told newsmen.
But Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, spokesman of Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola said: “Osun State should not be listed as one of those to be battled by the NLC because it has implemented the Minimum Wage Act.
“Workers in state have even confirmed enjoying the minimum wage. The NLC should be aware that the National Industrial Court (NIC) has restrained workers in the state from taking any action against the state over the issue.”Omar, while lamenting the reluctance of states to comply with the provisions of the Minimum Wage Act, noted that “the Act, which was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the President since March 2011, is being observed in the breach by some state governments.
“More worrying is the spectacle of the Federal government, which should defend its own law, allowing state governments to use its security forces against protesting workers who are only standing up for their rights as protected by the law. Such unprecedented impunity is not only malicious, but are anachronistic to cherished democratic values.
The much touted social dialogue, which should be the basis for resolving industrial disputes, has no meaning to some government and most employers.
“May we remind those governors who are yet to implement the new national minimum wage that they are in gross breach of a national law which they swore to uphold.
“In fact, if we operate a true democracy where the State Houses of Assembly are independent, this singular act of not complying with the minimum wage law is an impeachable offence.
“It is our resolve that the few states that are still reluctant to pay the Minimum Wage to some categories of workers will come under full focus by the labour movement. The struggle will no longer be left in the hands of the state councils, but handled in conjunction with the national leadership of the labour movement,” the NLC President said. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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