Minimum Wage: C' River Gov't, TUC, NLC Negotiation Breaks Down, Workers Commence Strike Wednesday

By Judex Okoro  

The on-going negotiation between Cross River State, Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the payment of new minimum wage seems to have broken down as labour leaders walked away from the meeting alleging insincerity on the part of government.

Recall that Govern Joint Public Service Negotiating and Implementing Committee on new minimum wage.

The committee  is chaired by the State Head of Service, Dr Innocent Eteng,also have representatives of the various labour unions, including Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Source close to the meeting held on Monday, November 18, 2024 at Head of Service Office (HoS) at Secretariat confided in THE BEAGLE NEWS. that labour leaders staged a walk out over what they described as delay tactics on the party of government representatives at the committee.

The Labour leaders alleged that at the first meeting held last week, there was no headway as attempt  were made by government to postpone the meeting till January but they kicked necessitating today:s meeting of which they didn't put forward anything on table to start negotiation.

The Labour Unions, therefore, say they will not guarantee industrial harmony from Wednesday if the government failed to concretise plans to implement the new national minimum wage of N70,000.

The committee  is chaired by the State Head of Service, Dr Innocent Eteng,also have representatives of the various labour unions, including Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Speaking to THE BEAGLE NEWS shortly after they staged a walk out on Monday, the chairman of the TUC in Cross River, Mr Monday Ogbodum, said that the government appeared not committed to the implementation of the new wage.

Ogbodum noted that it was labour positon that had earlier forced the government to set up the committee.

According to him, "from the loom of things, this same committee seems not ready for anything. We have heard from grapevine that the government is not looking at commencing implementation until January 2025.

"We have a directive from our national leadership that the implementation of the new wage of from October.

"Our worry is that the Cross River Governor was a member of this committee that gave birth to the new 3age.

"He was South South representative in that committee and he is the one lagging behind while other states have already made pronouncement on this new wage to the workers.

"Before now, he has assured us that he implement whatever that is agreed upon. As we speak, there is Joint seriousness that the government is ready for the workers."

Also speaking, the NLC chairman in the state, Mr Gregory Olayi, said that labour stage a walkout because the government representative in the committee appeared not serious .

"Beside the fact that the government had not put anything in the table, the government representative seems not to be acting on the mandate of the governor.

"In our last meeting on Thursday, they formed a technical committee which we had expected, will come with something for us to discuss with. 

"They came empty and unprepared from the look of things ans we had to stage a walkout until they are prepared for us," he said.

Continuing, Olayi said: "The labour is meeting with all its organs in Cross River on Tuesday and whatever decision of the organs are will be followed. We had them (Government) a 7-day ultimatum on Thursday last week which expires Monday midnight.

"We will be meeting with all the organs and whatever decision taken will we all see to it after the meeting on Tuesday."