Minimum wage: Bayelsa NLC issues 7-day ultimatum to govt

Posted by admin Bayelsa, State News Thursday, September 29th, 2011

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Bayelsa State has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Governor Timipre Sylva administration and the eight local government chairmen to implement the N18,000 minimum wage or face industrial action.

Sylva, however, at various fora had expressed the readiness of his government to pay the minimum wage and followed it up by setting up a tripartite committee comprising government and labour representatives to ascertain the financial implication of the implementation of the minimum wage.

Worried that several weeks after the submission of the report, the government had not shown any seriousness towards the immediate implementation of the minimum wage, the labour union decided to call a meeting to take a firm decision on the issue and to correct reports making the rounds that its leadership had been compromised.

At the meeting held at the Teachers House, which had in attendance, the Chairperson of NLC in the state, Mrs. Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Ayibaitari Collins Yekorogha, Chairman, Joint Negotiating Committee, Mr. Weridonghan, the union issued a seven-day ultimatum and embarked on a three-day warning strike to prevail on the government to implement the minimum wage.

In a communiqué signed by all the representatives of the labour union and issued at the end of the meeting, the NLC requested Governor Timipre Sylva to immediately implement the recommendation of the committee. It also demanded that the chairmen of the eight local government councils implement the minimum wage at the council level.

The communiqué reads in part: “Congress-in-session in strong terms further request His Excellency to immediately implement the committee’s recommendation on Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for primary health workers at the LGAs and to pay the outstanding month arrears for health workers in the state. Congress hereby issues a seven-day ultimatum with effect from today (yesterday) on the state government and the Association of Local Government Councils (ALGON), Bayelsa State within which to implement the new national minimum wage to workers.

“Finally the NLC and TUC further agreed to proceed on a three-day warning strike with effect from October 7 to 9 2011 if nothing is done by the two tiers of government. We therefore call on the working people to begin mobilisation to defend their interest, the collective interests of the Bayelsa state and people.”

-Sunwp_posts