Workers in Six States Prepare to Strike Over Unpaid Minimum Wage

Workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Cross River, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Kaduna, and Zamfara states are set to commence industrial action on Monday, December 2, 2024, due to the failure of state governments to implement the N70,000 new minimum wage.

The National Labour Congress (NLC) had earlier issued directives for workers in 14 states and the FCT to begin a strike if the new wage was not paid.

While negotiations have been ongoing in several states, the NLC chapters in the affected regions have confirmed their readiness to proceed with the strike.

In the FCT, the NLC Council announced that all workers in the six Area Councils would go on an indefinite strike starting December 1.

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The strike notice was issued after the area council chairmen failed to act on the demands for the implementation of the minimum wage despite prior communication from the NLC.

Stephen Knabayi, Chairman of the FCT NLC, expressed disappointment over the lack of response from the relevant authorities and emphasized that the strike action would continue until the matter was addressed.

“We have directed the workers in all the six Area Councils to go on strike,” Knabayi stated. “The authorities have not responded to our demands for the implementation of the minimum wage despite receiving the official communique.”

In Nasarawa, the NLC also expressed readiness for a strike, citing a lack of formal agreements despite negotiations. State NLC Chairman, Ismaila Okoh, confirmed that no official document had been signed to enforce the proposed N70,500 wage despite a verbal agreement between the union and the state government.

“Though the state government has agreed to pay N70,500, no formal document has been signed. If nothing is done by midnight, our members will comply with the strike,” Okoh said.

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While Kaduna State had started paying the new minimum wage, offering N72,000 as the lowest salary, the state’s NLC chapter confirmed its participation in the national strike.

Kaduna’s NLC Chairman, Ayuba Suleiman, affirmed that despite the wage payments, workers would proceed with the strike, following the NLC leadership’s directive.

In a counterstatement, Ibraheem Musa, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna, defended the state’s wage implementation, stating that Kaduna was compliant with the minimum wage law. Musa emphasized that the state was also working on addressing consequential adjustments, which had been a source of contention.

Meanwhile, in Ebonyi, NLC Chairman Dr. Oguguo Egwu revealed that workers would begin a one-week warning strike, citing the failure of Governor Francis Nwifuru to implement the wage despite prior public assurances.

The Zamfara State NLC also joined the industrial action over the non-payment of the new wage, and Cross River workers, despite last-minute negotiations, threatened to join the strike if the state government failed to meet the wage demands.