Minimum wage: Ekiti NLC distances self from planned strike

The Nigeria Labour Congres (NLC) has said there will not be a strike in Ekiti state over the implementation of N70,000 new minimum wage.

The national headquarters of the labour movement on Friday in a statement directed state chapters in 13 states including Ekiti to commence industrial action on Monday over the failure of the state governments to implement the new minimum for workers.

However, speaking on Saturday, the NLC chairman in Ekiti, Kolapo Olatunde, said all documents have been forwarded to the national headquarters on the agreement reached with the state government for the implementation of the new minimum wage.

He disclosed that the labour force in Ekiti State will not join the declared strike action, saying that the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji has set machinery in motion for the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage and the consequential adjustments.

While calling on the workers in the state to be committed to their duties, the NLC chairman noted that workers in the state including local government workers and pensioners have been adequately captured in the implementation template in the state.

Olatunde added that all categories of workers had been captured in the consequential adjustments for the new minimum wage in the state, assuring Ekiti workers that the state would soon commence the implementation.

He said, “There won’t be a strike in Ekiti on Monday because we have been able to get across our documents on the approval of the new minimum wage by the state government to them in Abuja and they have cleared Ekiti state from the strike action slated for Monday.

“The strike is for those states that are yet to approve the new N70,000 new minimum wage and Ekiti has not only approved but also released the template for the consequential adjustments. So, Ekiti will not be joining the strike on Monday.”

Also, the secretary of NLC in the state, Dr Israel Taiwo, corroborated the chairman’s position, adding that there will not be a workers’ strike in Ekiti on Monday.

He stated that he had obtained clearance from the national leadership of the NLC exempting Ekiti from the planned strike action and urged the government not to delay the implementation process.