Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC),Bauchi chapter has assured it will partner with the in-coming Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)led state govern’ment to ensure implementation of the new thirty thousand Naira (N30,000)minimum wage.
It also said “we will engage in constructive dialogue with the state government over the payment of state’s civil servants entitlements”.
A member of the newly elected Bauchi NLC executives,comrade Mohammed Yunusa,in an interview with our correspondent in Bauchi,informed that”we will not be confrontational with the state government or any employer,but a peaceful dialogue will resolve our workers’callenges”.
The N30,000:00 Minimum Wage Bill was signed into law last month,by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Though,Iam not holding brief for my comrade chairman Danjuma Saleh,we are a team and that is how we will work to harmonize issues that affect our individual and collective members”.
“Our retiree members’ benefits such as pension,gratuity,annual leave,and other allowances have not been paid for several years.This include our working members,especially the state civil servants”.
Our focus is to ensure government and other employers live up to expectations in such a manner that good quality productivity and services are not compromised by both parties.For this is the only way peace and progress can be achieved”.
Commenting on the welfare of Nigerian workers, Yunusa opined that”the Nigeria Labour Congress is still far from securing the Nigerian workers’ welfare,but we will get there someday”.
He however denied that NLC only gives emphasis on the workers salary and in few instances,demand for the improvement of infrastructures that should improve the living conditions of other Nigerians.
According to him”we have perculiar situations in Nigeria.Among them is the non-payment of minimum wage.As we talk,some states in Nigeria have not being paying the N18000”.
And now the N30,000.And don’t forget that more than half of 46 states in Nigeria are owing workers their monthly salaries,and it is our collective duty to ensure they are paid But it is a serious headache.
And not all workers,including civil servants are yet to benefit from the National Health Insurance Scheme,introduced by the federal government.
In Bauchi,it is our desire to engage the state government to seriously look into uplifting the standard of our education,health service delivery,provide and subsidize agricultural inputs,and upon up rural areas by constructing several feeder-roads.
