By Tony Edike

THE labour crisis in Enugu State over partial implementation of the new minimum wage of N18,000 by the state government degenerated into an indefinite strike last week following the government’s refusal to negotiate with the team mandated by the national leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to handle the wage negotiation on behalf of aggrieved workers in the state.

The state chapter of NLC, led by Comrade Nze Chumaife, had engaged the state government in a negotiation over the implementation of the minimum wage but both parties failed to agree on modalities for implementation especially the amount to be paid in compliance with the agreement signed by the Federal Government and the organized labour.

The issue

The state government offered to add N10,000 to salaries of workers on level 01 to 06 to bring their take home pay to N18,000 and above while those on level 07 to 17 were given additional N5,000 insisting that anything beyond these would amount to grounding the activities of the government.

Under the government’s proposal, a worker on level 01 step 15 will receive N20,000 monthly as against N25,000 demanded by workers to reflect 12 percent increase across board. On the other hand, the government proposed to pay a Director on level 16 step 9 a monthly salary of N96,000 from N91,000 earned before the new minimum wage.

But according to the chart prepared by labour, a Director on level 16 step 9 in the state is supposed to earn N241,000 per month, if the agreement is to be fully implemented.

The state government’s interpretation of the new wage bill is that once a worker on level 1 step 1 is given N18,000 the agreement had been fully implemented. Governor Sullivan Chime had in his own calculation approved N18,500 wage for the least paid worker in the state (level 01 step 1) disregarding the chart prepared by the organized labour, which the state chapter of NLC insisted must be fully implemented.

Enugu NLC factionalised

In the midst of the protracted labour dispute, a section of the state civil service accused some leaders of NLC in the state including the chairman, Comrade Chumaife of having been compromised by the state government. The union’s leadership denied the allegation and reaffirmed their commitment to pursue the negotiation to a logical conclusion.

Majority of the workers lost confidence in the ability of the NLC leadership to continue with the wage negotiation and subsequently formed another group under the umbrella of Enugu State Workers Forum.

Ugwu emerges as leader

Chairman of the forum, Comrade Osmond Ugwu, who was unanimously appointed to lead the workers in the battle for the enhanced wage, continued with the agitation holding prayer rallies at the Adoration prayer ground of the Christ the King Catholic Church headed by the renowned priest, Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka. The priest gave the workers necessary backing.

The state government refused to dialogue with the group saying it would only talk with the Chumaife_led NLC leadership, which it recognized as the authentic body to negotiate on behalf of the workers. The government described the Osmond Ugwu-led group as illegal.

Amid the confusion, the national leadership of NLC intervened and set up an independent team headed by Comrade Marcus Omokhuale to continue with the negotiation but when the team visited Enugu for the exercise two weeks ago, Governor Chime declined to receive them.

The negotiation deadlocked forcing the national leadership to storm Enugu on September 8, 2011 to stage what they tagged “Mother of All Rallies” in protest against Chime administration’s refusal to honour the wage agreement.

Detention of labour leaders

Contrary to their expectation, the labour leaders led by the NLC President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar and the President of TUC, Comrade Peter Esele were locked up at their Gold Value Hotel in New Haven, Enugu by a combined team of heavily armed soldiers and mobile policemen allegedly acting on the orders of the state government.

The unfriendly security operatives threatened to shoot the labour leaders if they ventured out of the hotel to stage the rally for which they had gathered in Enugu.

The lock_up order carried out by the security operatives and the invasion of the hotel premises by political thugs loyal to the state government, were intended to forestall the protest rally by thousands of workers led by the national leaders of various labour unions and their counterparts from other South East states.

The labour, however, refused to be intimidated as the rally was successfully held and an indefinite strike was by workers with effect from September 8 to compel the government to pay the wage.

Chime pleads

Governor Chime and his aides had repeatedly appealed to the workers to return to duty to pave the way for further negotiation but their pleas had fallen on deaf ears as the strike action continued to bite harder paralyzing government and economic activities in the entire state.