Minimum wage: Labour issues 21-day ultimatum to Niger govt

The Niger State chapter of the Organized Labour has handed down a 21-day ultimatum to the state government to pay the N30,000 new minimum wage or face an indefinite strike.

This was arrived at after it emergency state Executive Council (SEC) meeting in Minna on Friday.

Labour said it was left with no option than to issue the ultimatum following government’s inability to adequately respond to the issues raised in an earlier letter.

The labour in a letter, titled “notice of 21 days ultimatum of indefinite strike action” jointly signed by the state Chairman, Comrade Yakubu Garba, state Chairman Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Yunusa D. Tanimu pointed out that “the organized labour in the state has resolved to once more demand from the government the implementation of the N30,000 new minimum wage, consequential adjustment and also payment of the accrued arrears before Monday, 4th February 2020.

It could be recalled that the state government had said that its 2020 budget is based on the payment of the N30,000 minimum wage.

The commissioners for Planning Alhaji Mamman Musa and that of

Finance, Alhaji Zakari Abubakar while giving the breakdown of the budget in Minna recently said like other aspects of the budget the implementation will commence once the fiscal estimates is passed by the house of assembly and assented to by the governor.

The commissioners declined to say exactly when the minimum wage payment will commence but said “…everything in the budget will be implemented in 2020.”

They further submitted that the state will not have difficulty in paying the N30,000 minimum wage because they are already paying N22,500, and that what they need now is N7,500, which has been taken care of that in the budget.