Minimum wage: A’Ibom workers suspend 3-week strike

Posted by admin Akwa Ibom, State News Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Akwa Ibom State Government workers have suspended the strike which they embarked upon since January 3, 2012 over some problems in the implementation of the new minimum wage.

The decision to suspend the strike, according to the labour leaders, was a response to the pleas by elder statesmen, the clergy and the royal fathers whom the governor invited to a town-hall meeting to plead with the labour to suspend the strike and go into dialogue with the state government.

Governor Godswill Akpabio had at the meeting, promised to review and correct the distortions in the current salary regime in the state and accepted to implement the consolidated health salary Structure (CONHESS) and to review the Consolidated Judiciary Salary Structure (CONJUSS).

The statement suspending the strike, signed by state chairman of NLC, Comrade Unyime Usoro and the state chairman of TUC, Comrade Ifreke Akpan, among others, said; “Government and Labour has agreed to set up a committee to review the salary regime and to work out modalities for the implementation of all sectoral wage demands by various sectors in the state within one month.”

But before agreeing to set up committee to review the various salaries, Akpabio had tongue-lashed the labour leaders for showing ingratitude despite the fact that he was the only governor in the country to have paid the minimum wage from April 2011. He said; “even when the issue of minimum wage came up, the Governors’ Forum said that the payment of the N18,000 minimum wage should begin by August 2011, but I chose to pay in arrears from April 2011.Many states are yet pay. Salaries from grade level 6-13 have increased by 69% and salaries from grade level 7-14 have increased by 65%.

The governor presented copies of salaries earned by civil servants before the minimum wage implementation and now, saying that workers at level six who earned 15,552.56k, now earn 26,356.76k; workers at level 10 earned 34,944.69k but currently they receive 57,635.77k; level 17 workers who earned 131,211.12k now receive 215,660 and so on. He further said that the labour union has published things that are false, “I want the stakeholders to know that the current strike in the state is not about minimum wage, because I paid the agreed minimum wage in arrears” says Akpabio.

Akpabio warned that any staff that refuses to go to work would not be paid. “If people are to stay at home, they should do so for the right reasons, I plead that the labour union should call off the strike so that workers can earn their January salary or if not, the government will embark on ‘NO WORK, NO PAY.’ He however commended the National Union of local Government Employees (NULGE) for withdrawing from the strike. He also commended the security chiefs for their commitment to a better security in AKS, mentioning the 3 security operations that have been put in place – Operation Rapid Response Squad, Operation Quick Response Squad and Operation Thunder.

The speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Sam Ikon, represented by his deputy, Mr Udo Kerian Akpan, said that the State House of Assembly saw the agreement signed by the labour union and the government. He said during a meeting with the union leaders, they complained that Cross River State, River State, Delta State , are paying more than AKS.

According to him, “the governor sent out representatives to go to other states in the south to know if they have implemented the minimum wage. On investigation, Cross River state has not paid the minimum wage; Rivers State and Bayelsa State are the only states that are paying higher than Akwa Ibom State . The Speaker told the union leaders that strike is not an option to the issue, rather they should appeal to the governor for negotiation, “for the governor to review the agreement he entered into with the labour union that is a sign of responsibility.”wp_posts