Joint Consultative Forum of workers’ unions in Kano State may embark on full-scale industrial action, following the decision of the state government to revert to old wages with the February salary.

Besides, the unions vehemently rejected government’s N18,000 offer for local government workers and deduction in the salary of state workers.

Addressing journalists after the union’s emergency meeting, yesterday, the Chairman, Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Kano State council, Kabiru Minjibir, said labour took the decision after government rejected offers to refund deductions in salaries.

Minjibir disclosed that Kano government, through the Head of Service (HoS), Binta Ahmed, had told the workers that government would not be able to pay the minimum wage of N30,000 due to shortfall in the federal allocation for the month of February.

According to Minjibir, the HoS claimed that the 36 states and the Federal capital territory (FCT) shared N544 billion for the month of February against N699 billion realised in the month earlier, a development which negatively affected the ability of state government to meet her month financial liabilities.

His words: “We are distancing ourselves, henceforth, from government’s decision to deduct workers’ salary and reversal of local government workers’ salary to N18,000. By implication, it is certain the pensioners will also be affected. We were called by the HoS informing us that there was shortfall in federal allocation, which made it impossible for them to pay the new wage.

“However, all the labour unions – NLC, TUC, JNC, JCF, NUP – and the public sector union in Kano met and gave government options, which include ensuring blockage in internally-generated revenue and saving from the revenue to augment salaries and refunding workers’ deductions from their salaries the moment federal allocation is raised to N700 billion.

But government accepted all the recommendations, except refunding the deducted per cent from workers’ salaries.”
Minjibir declared that NLC had reported the development to the mother body of labour, while awaiting further action that will follow government’s action.

He regretted government’s reversal to old payment despite the harsh economic situation of the country, coupled with fuel scarcity that negatively affect workers’ welfare.