BY VICTORIA ONU, ABUJA
THE Nigeria Labour Congress has condemned the plan of Kano State Government to reverse the payment of the current minimum wage of N30,000 to N18, 000.
The NLC Chairman in Kano State, Kabiru Ado, kicked against the plan on Friday, adding that the workers would resist any plan to further deduct their salaries.
He said, “The attention of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and the leadership of Joint Negotiating Council has been drawn to a malicious and ill-motivated grapevine publication circulating that the state government is set on reversing the payment of the current minimum wage of N30,600 to the old wage of N18,000.
“Other states such as Borno, Katsina, Lagos, among others, who had issues with COVID-19 and security challenges did not reduce workers’ salary.”
The Chairman noted that the government, more than before, was expected to support workers and their families to scale through the hard times.
He added that, owing to the salary deduction suffered by workers and pensioners in November and December 2020, the congress had been compelled to take appropriate action on the matter.
He said that the Congress would not accept further unilateral deductions of the workers’ earnings, adding that the state government should ensure refund of the deductions made in the months of November and December 2020.
The chairman commended the workers and pensioners for their support and understanding in these trying times and enjoined them to remain alert and await further directives from the leadership of the NLC in the state.
“If there is further deduction, severance or foul play on salary, under whatever excuse, the labour congress would be left with no other alternative than to take appropriate industrial action to seek redress,” he added.
