Pay Salaries Or Face Strike, NLC Tells Governors

Factional NLC leader Joe Ajaero on Friday advised state governors owing workers to pay their salaries to avoid protest by the organised labour. This is contained in a 10-point communiqué signed by Ajaero at the end of his National Executive Council meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers. According to the communique, it is unacceptable that after the timely intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, the workers’ have not received their salaries in full.

The communiqué said that some of the states still owed many months of salary arrears and that it was regrettable that many states could not pay salaries in the first instance. “We have resolved that if non-payment of salaries and benefits continue till August, we will mobilise private sector unions for solidarity strike in affected states until arrears are paid,’’ the communiqué said . It further said that the congress would not accept the issue of economic crisis to justify why some governors and agencies deny workers their rights and privileges. The communiqué also advised government at all levels to START negotiation of a new minimum wage as the five-year tenure of the national minimum wage has ended. The communiqué said that the council mandated the Congress to send the proposal of N90,000 for negotiation to the Federal Government and NIGERIA Employers’ Consultative Association. “This proposal is based on the unstable micro economic environment, NAIRA devaluation and the high rate of inflation,” the communiqué said. It said that the congress would resist every attempt to subject workers to more impoverished state.