By ENYIM ENYIM
ONITSHA — Anambra State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has vowed to embark on strike next month if Governor Peter Obi failed to implement the new minimum wage as approved by the Federal Government.

Chairman of the union, Mr. Patrick Obianyo, in an interview with Vanguard, weekend, said the plan by the union to embark on industrial action followed what he described as unacceptable salary structure which government presented to the leadership of the union, which was claimed to have been prepared by South-East Governors’ Forum.

”For  Anambra State NLC, negotiation continues till July 31 and, if nothing happens, we shall go on strike without notice.

“We will write the governor on the need for him to act fast before the end of the month. We submitted our own home grown salary table to government penultimate Friday but government brought out a ridiculous chart which rather reduced the salary of workers on Grade level 07 and above as if the new minimum wage was only meant for junior civil servants in the state,” Obianyo said.

According to him, the salary table was built on consolidated salary structure as against the salary Grade level structure, which civil servants in the state had known and had been paid.

Obianyo, who doubles as the state chairman of the health workers union that had been on strike for the past five months, insisted that the health workers would not go back to work unless government signed the agreement between it and the union to pay 40% increment on their existing salary.