Bauchi State chapter of the organized labour under the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), has confirmed that the State Government has actually agreed to implement the N70,000 minimum wage for its workforce effective November 2024......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
The confirmation was made by the leadership of the Organized led by the NLC Chairperson, Comrade Dauda Shuaibu flanked by his TUC colleague, during a press conference held on Friday.
The organized labour expressed satisfaction over the approval of the new national minimum wage signed by the state government and the pledge to commence payment in November.
The NLC Chairperson who spoke on behalf of the organized labour stated that, “We called you here today to confirm to you that, actually, the State Government has agreed to pay the new minimum wage. We have signed the agreement for the implementation and we are very happy about the development.”
Comrade Dauda Shuaibu said that the state government had a Committee headed by the Accountant General of State which met with organized labour committee and came up with an agreed process.
He said that the agreement was reached in November and the payment would commence immediately explaining that the implementation of the minimum wage affects workers at the state and local government levels.
According to him, “Alongside the N70,000 minimum wage, we have also submitted a letter for N32,000 pension payment in the state. The Governor has not opposed it but urged us to give him a little time as we have just ended the new national minimum wage.”
The NLC Chairperson added that, “We encourage our senior citizens to be more patient. We are going on with that negotiation too. It is going to be part of our next struggles.”
Speaking further, he said that, “On the issue of arrears, we signed the agreement for the new minimum wage on the 21th of November, 2024, we didn’t discuss the issue of arrears, based on reality and the amount of money added to the minimum wage, the burden is too huge. I cannot guarantee you of arrears. It is not captured in the agreement we had.”
The Union leader then commended the State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir for supporting the welfare of the workers saying, “This is the first time we had a seamless negotiations on salary increase. We appreciate all the parties involved.”
Shuaibu stated that, “On behalf of all the workers in the state, we express our sincere gratitude to His Excellency, the Governor, Bala Mohammed for the approval of the new national minimum wage. We hereby assure him that we are going to reciprocate this gesture.”