*As more states gear up for strike

BY OKEY NDIRIBE

ABUJA-There were indications that workers in more states across the country are likely to join the on-going strike over N18,000 minimum wage. Sources close to the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, indicated that the reluctance of several governors to comply with the new minimum wage act would lead to increased industrial unrest in the affected states.

A top NLC officer told Vanguard that very soon more states would soon embark on strike over the thorny issue. Already, workers in Osun, Edo and Oyo states have embarked on strike over the minimum wage.

Already, state governments that are reluctant to pay the new wage have been warned against violating the new Minimum Wage Act. This warning was given yesterday  by the Acting General Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Owei Lakemfa.

The agreement was signed after the Federal Government and Governors Forum had agreed to pay the new minimum wage across board. The agreement also indicated that both sides would engage in further negotiations to work out modalities for implementation of the new minimum wage for all categories of workers.

Comrade Lakemfa further stated that he did not expect that the current disputes between state chapters of NLC and state governments to last more than one week.

Lakemfa said: “The NLC has the understanding  that negotiations between various  state governments and our  state chapters could not be concluded at once”.

He reminded state governors that such negotiations must end in next week and implementation begins August 29.

He also disclosed  that the signing of the  final agreement between  the Federal Government and organised labour over the N18,000 minimum wage  which was supposed to take place today had been postponed citing the Federal Government’s unpreparedness as the main reason for the development.

It was learnt that both sides had fixed today’s for signing the joint agreement after last Tuesday’s meeting  which followed the truce both sides reached over the thorny issue in recent weeks.

The negotiations had resumed after leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, had  threatened that the labour movement would embark on a nation-wide strike without further notice if  the Federal Government continued to maintain its stand that it would pay the new minimum wage to workers only in grade levels 1-6.