The organised labour has sent a note of warning to governors, saying that there is no excuse for any of the states to refuse payment of minimum wage.
Mr Emmanuel Ugboaja, General-Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), made this known while fielding questions from journalists on Sunday in Lagos.
He said some of the leaders “ride in private jet, so they can pay.”
Ugboaja also appealed to state Houses of Assembly to identify with workers by compelling governors to pay the new minimum wage.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum had said that the state governors would not pay beyond their individual capacities.
However, the NLC scribe insisted that there was no basis for the governors to complain about payment of the N30,000 minimum wage.
He said: “It is criminal to say you cannot pay the new minimum wage.
“Some of these leaders ride in private jet, so they can pay.’’
He said that the organised labour was in support of the return of the Labour Advisory Council, which would help to mediate between government and workers.
He urged the Federal Government to take action against employers who would not pay the new wage.
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the N30,000 minimum wage law on April 18. After that, labour and the government debated heavily on the consequential adjustment on workers’ salaries.
On Oct. 18, both parties agreed on 23.2 percentage increase for workers on grade level 07 and 20 percent for those on grade level 08, while 19 percent would be received by workers on grade level 09, sixteen percent for those from levels 10 to 14 and 14 percent for grade levels 15 to 17.
Report by Agencies
