Minimum Wage: Organised labour in Abia absolves government of non implementation blame as government calls for continued industrial harmony.

By Editor, Umuahia

The organised labour in Abia state, has debunked claims by the national leadership that Abia state was among defaulting states in the new minimum wage.

The NLC had threatened to begin an indefinite strike on Monday over the non-compliance of affected states with the implementation of the new minimum wage.

The state chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Ogbonnaya Okoro and his trade union Congress counterpart, Ihechi Enogwe say, Abia was listed erroneously.

They said the organised labour had engaged state government on the minimum wage which led to the payment last month.

According to comrade Okoro, “For anybody to include Abia state as one of those states have not implemented , is a wrong perception .”

Comrade Okoro insists that “Abia state has implemented the national minimum wage saying,”government of Abia has implemented but we are trying to correct the grey areas, that is our position.”

Comrade Enogwe on his part said “Among those seven categories, Abia state fell in one of them erroneously because we have already agreed with the governor to look into it, so we have no case on that area.”

They however noted that there were discrepancies in the salaries of workers between grade levels 8 and 16.“Abia implemented the minimum wage in October, but it did not fully benefit all workers. It favored workers from level 1 to 7, while those from level 8 to 16 were not adequately addressed,” Okoro explained. “After noticing this anomaly, the Organized Labour wrote a letter to the government, urging that workers between levels 8 and 16 should be better placed.”

Pastor Caleb Ajagba, chief of staff to the governor, frowned at the call for a strike in some select states by national organised labour over non implementation of minimum wage.

He said at a joint press conference that Abia state already begun payment of minimum wage in October and therefore wondered why would be included among states that are defaulting in this regard.

“It is misinformation that Abia State has not started implementing the new minimum wage. Abia workers received their first salary according to the new wage in October, and the same was done in November,” he said.

He reiterated Governor Alex Otti’s commitment to the welfare of Abia workers and advised the national leadership to allow the industrial harmony in the state to continue.

Pastor Ajagba acknowledged that there were some concerns raised by the Organized Labour after the implementation but added that the government was committed to addressing them.

“Governor Otti has always demonstrated his commitment to ensuring industrial harmony and prioritizing the welfare of Abia workers. Abia was among the first states to engage with the Organized Labour after the federal government concluded the issue of the minimum wage. We finalized discussions in October, and the first payment was made that same month,” Ajagba said.

He added that any issues raised by the labour unions would be carefully examined and resolved.

The press conference was attended by several top government officials, including the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Uwaoma Ukandu; the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Comrade Sunny Onwuma; Head of Service, Dr. Ngozi Obioma; and Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, leadership of the organised labour, ets.