Labour accuses Gov Ishaku of refusing to pay minimum wage, threatens industrial action

The joint public negotiating council comprising of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Taraba State, has accused Governor Darius Ishaku on being insensitive to the plights of civil servants for not signing the N30,000 national minimum wage into law as approved by the FG.

The accusation was made by the council during a press briefing held in Jalingo, the capital city of the state.

Chairman of the council, Wilfred Yambakan, described the action of the Taraba State government as an attempt to deny the workers of their rights.

The council also demanded for the immediate signing of the agreement within seven days and implementation of same in the payment of the September salaries, failure of which the council agreed to embark on the industrial showdown.

The chairman stated that the state government requested for the grace of three months to implement the negotiated minimum wage in the state in view of the ravaging effects of COVID-19 on the global economy which the state was not immune from.

He explained that Tuesday, August 26, was exactly five months that the grace was granted, adding that there is no indication by the government to sign the agreement.

The labour leader stressed that the pandemic was not an excuse for the government to handle a mundane matter like the N30,000.00 minimum wage.

He said, even in the face of COVID-19, the state has conducted local councils election as well as PDP Congresses in the state, yet workers’ new minimum wage was not attended to in the name of the pandemic.

Reacting to the development in a telephone interview with our correspondent, senior special adviser to the governor on media and publicity, Bala Dan Abu, pleaded with the council not to embark on an industrial showdown, adding that negotiation was still ongoing.

While appreciating labour for their patience, Abu also admitted that the law allows every state to pay the minimum wage according to its capacity and appealed to the labour to await the outcome of the negotiation.

 

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