Minimum wage strike: Nwifuru fumes as three states, FCT grounde

The industrial action by the Nigeria Labour Congress over the non-implementation of the new national minimum wage grounded the civil service in three states and the Federal Capital Territory, with Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi threatening to replace workers in the state should they fail to return to work.­­

Nwifuru made the threat during a live broadcast in his office at Government House, Centenary City, Abakaliki on Monday.

The visibly angry governor vowed that he would not only withhold the salaries of the striking workers but also replace any of them who failed to report to office in the next 72 hours.

The governor kicked against the ongoing strike, stating that he had done so much for workers in the state.

He said, “If you don’t go to work, not only that I will not pay you salary, I will replace you within 72 hours.

“As far as I am not guilty, I do not owe you. I am paying you what is supposed to be paid and according to the agreement and constitution, I do not owe you. If you don’t go to work within 72 hours, I will replace you.”

He added, “I have called the Chairman, Civil Service Commission. I have directed all the commissioners to go to their offices. All the agencies and all the departments of government must be in their offices and record the people that come to work.

“I will pay through table payment, by the number of days you attend to your duty in your office. If you don’t want to come to work, forget about the state government.”

Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Ebonyi State chapter, Prof. Oguguo Egwu, had on Sunday expressed displeasure over the perceived lackadaisical attitude of the governor towards the plight of workers, saying the condition of civil servants in the state was worrisome.

Other states where government activities were paralysed were Nasarawa, Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory.

In Nasarawa, official activities were stalled across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state, on Monday, as workers complied with the one-week indefinite industrial action declared by the organised Labour union in the state.

One of our correspondents observed that the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lafia, State Secretariat and the judiciary were completely shut down in full compliance with the strike.

The scenario was the same at the State Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as only one security personnel was sighted at the gate, keeping watch to prevent hoodlums from taking advantage of the strike.

Offices also visited included the Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission, Nasarawa Geographic Information Service, and the Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development, among others.

Ministries such as Youths and Sports Development, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Works and Housing, and the office of the Secretary to the Nasarawa State Government were completely deserted.

Leaders of organised labour in the state monitored to ensure total compliance with the strike.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent, the Nasarawa State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ismaila Okoh, said the union declared total strike because the government verbally committed to a N70,500 minimum wage but failed to provide a written agreement specifying the payment terms.

He emphasised that all the affiliate unions had been alerted and instructed to participate in the strike if the state government did not implement the new wage by December 1, 2024.

He, however, sued for understanding from the government, appealing that it should expedite action on the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage in the state.

However, the Nasarawa State Committee on the new National Minimum Wage insisted that the state government had already approved the payment of N70,500 as the minimum wage for workers across the state.

Chairman of the committee, who is the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, made this disclosure during a recent meeting with members of the committee to finalise discussions on the matter at his temporary office in Lafia, the state capital.

 

He further assured that the state government would commence payment of the N70,500 minimum wage in December 2024.

 

While noting that the negotiations on salary adjustments were already in an advanced stage, Akabe promised organised labour of the state government’s willingness to work out modalities that would address the concerns raised by all workers in the state.

Kaduna secretariat shut

Similarly, usual activities in ministries, departments and agencies in Kaduna State were halted as the workers’ strike in the state began in full swing on Monday.

The secretariat gates were also locked, preventing workers from accessing their offices, whereas banks and other private institutions continued operations.

The strike was called by organised labour over the state government’s failure to implement the consequential adjustments to the new minimum wage, despite paying a minimum gross salary of N72,000.

According to the Kaduna State NLC chairman, Ayuba Suleiman, the strike was in line with directives from the national leadership of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress.

However, Governor Uba Sani’s Chief Press Secretary, Ibraheem Musa, defended the government’s position, stating that the issue was related to salary adjustments, not the minimum wage itself.

“The least paid worker in Kaduna State received N72,000 in November.

“The issue is not about the minimum wage, but about the consequential adjustments. We urge patience, as the state’s limited revenue, which comprises an average monthly allocation of N8bn from the Federal Account Allocation Committee and N4bn in internally generated revenue, makes it difficult to implement the adjustments immediately.”

However, Suleiman dismissed the government’s position, reiterating that the failure to implement the adjustments was unacceptable.

“We met with the government on Saturday, but no agreement was reached. We will continue with the strike until our demands are met,” he said.

The TUC Kaduna State Council also criticized the government’s unilateral implementation of the new wage, describing it as contrary to collective bargaining principles.

A civil servant told our correspondent that the salary increase was minimal, with increments ranging from N4,000 to N5,000.

“The salary increase is not enough to make a significant difference in our lives. We urge the government to fully implement the new wage, taking into account the current economic situation,” he said.

FCT workers comply

The Federal Capital Territory chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees complied with the directive of the NLC to embark on an indefinite strike, insisting offices Area Council would “remain under lock and key” until demands were met.

The FCT Council of the NLC directed workers in the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory to embark on an indefinite strike on December 1 until further directives were issued.

The letter signed by the FCT NLC chairman, Stephen Knabayi, on Saturday, faulted the failure of the Area Council chairmen to respond to the demand for the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage, despite receiving a communiqué of the National Executive Council of the NLC, issued to the Council chairmen on November 14.

The President of NULGE, FCT chapter, Abdullahi Kabi, speaking to journalists on Monday, said the Area Council offices “will remain under lock and key until they implement the N70,000 minimum wage.”

“The entire FCT Area Council will remain under lock and key until they implement the N70,000 minimum wage. We don’t have any explanation as to why they have not started the minimum wage implementation.

“The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has already told us that he does not hold their money and that they should find ways to settle us,” he said.

He added, “We ask, what is our offence? Who among us is not affected by these unmet demands? Let us stand together and support our union’s efforts to fight for our rights. We are not slaves. FCTA staff (members) have been paid in all the above-listed areas, are we all not in FCT?

“Staff at the FCT Area Councils are demotivated, demoralised and are gradually being deactivated by the system. We go to the same market, same school, same hospital, pay house rent, pay electricity bills, pay water bills and others, same transport system, work in the same environment, etc. Are we slaves? Our demands must be met before we engage in any activity,” he added.

Zamfara shuns directive

Meanwhile, civil servants in Zamfara State shunned the directive of the NLC to join the nationwide strike as they reported to their various offices on Monday.

 

The state’s chapter of the NLC directed the civil servants to embark on an indefinite strike from December 1, following the refusal of the state government to implement the new minimum wage.

 

A visit to some ministries showed civil servants carrying out their duties as usual, without hindrance.

 

A civil servant with the Ministry of Health, who gave his name as Sulaiman Mohammed, said, “It is a waste of time for the civil servants to join the strike because, at the end of the day, the labour leaders will abandon us if they get what they want from the authorities. We are tired of this situation and we will continue to violate all future strikes.”

 

Another civil servant, Musa Sani, who works at the state Ministry of Education, said he reported to the office just to find out if there was going to be a strike as directed by the state chapter of the NLC.

 

“I came to the office today (Monday) to find out if the strike would hold but to my surprise, I discovered that almost everybody was here,” he said.

 

Efforts to talk to the state’s NLC chairman, Sani Halliru, proved abortive as he refused to pick up his phone after several attempts.

 

Meanwhile, the state government has assured that it would pay the new minimum wage as soon as its verification exercise is conducted.

 

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal on Media and Communications, Mustafa Kaura, told The PUNCH, “I want to assure the civil servants that Governor Dauda Lawal will pay the minimum wage as soon as possible.”