Comrade Obigwe
Labour Leaders in Abia State have denied the report that Abia State workers are not enjoying the national minimum wage as proposed in 2019 nation wide.
Abia state Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, comrade Uchenna Obigwe, chairman Trade Union Congress, TUC, comrade I. O Eneogwe and chairman, Joint Negotiation council, JNC, comrade Chris Okoro in a joint statement read by Obigwe debunked the report. While interacting with newsmen in Umuahia, the labour leaders in Abia said the national leadership of NLC gave a lacuna for states to decide what to pay as minimum wage.
They described the news as fake and warned that the national leadership of the NLC should not cause crisis about the minimum wage.
Obigwe, Chris and Eneogwe wondered why anybody or group should single out Abia state that had implemented the national minimum wage in their state since 2019 as one of the states that have not implemented the national minimum wage of 2019.
According to them, the organised labour in Abia state feels that the national leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, should encourage the state to do more for Abia workers.
Their words, “recall that Abia state government constituted a thirty thousand naira minimum wage committee headed by the chairman of joint negotiation council, comrade Chris Okoro, which sat severally and mid-wifed the thirty thousand naira minimum wage, which which by all ramification was the best in the south east in the south east as what Ebonyi state is taking now was what Abia state took as their minimum wage in 2011, Anambra State only added three thousand naira (Ñ 3,000 ) to their 2011 minimum wage in 2011, while Enugu state added three thousand naira (Ñ4,000) to their minimum wage of 2011 and up to date Enugu State Health workers are in 60% consolidated health salary structure, CONHESS, while Abia has implemented CONHESS and Consolidated Health salary structure, CONMES to their health workers since 2011”
They added that Abia state added ten thousand naira each to salaries of workers and it was agreed that the ten thousand on top is not taxable. Therefore, the struggle for salary increment continues.
