Organised labour in Enugu State has clarified the statement credited to the assistant general secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Chris Onyeka, which listed the state among those yet to implement the N30,000 minimum wage.
Onyeka listed Abia, Enugu, Bayelsa, Delta, Nasarawa, Gombe, Adamawa, Niger, Sokoto, Imo, Anambra, Taraba, Benue, and Zamfara as states yet to implement the N30 minimum wage in defiance of the Minimum Wage Act, 2019.
Reacting to development, the state chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Ben Asogwa, said the NLC chieftain must have been misquoted regarding Enugu State.
“The payment of N30,000 minimum wage and its consequential adjustment started in February 2020 for all the state workers while the local government workers and primary school teachers were paid with a 25 percent consequential adjustment.
However, upon taking office, Governor Mbah approved the full implementation of the plan for local government workers and primary school teachers.
“Besides that, the Peter Mbah administration has also been paying monthly wage awards of N10,000 to local government workers and primary school teachers and N25,000 to all categories of state workers from December 2023 till date to cushion the current economic hardship pending the conclusion of negotiation of a new minimum wage.
“The governor recently approved the 100 percent Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for Nurses and Midwives and Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals in the state.
“So, nobody is talking about N30,000 minimum wage in Enugu again. We are actually waiting for the conclusion of the negotiation of a new minimum wage, which our governor has already assured us that he would key into once the negotiation ends at the federal level.
“In fact, Governor Mbah is conveniently disposed to the welfare of workers,” Asogwa said.