Maduako Igbokwe ,Awka
ONITSHA, Anambra – Chairman of Anambra State Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Jerry Nubia has disclosed that the implementation of national minimum wage in the state has been haphazard .
Nubia made the statement on Wednesday while addressing the speaker and some members of Anambra State House of Assembly during the NLC protest against moving minimum wage from Exclusive list to Concurrent List .
He said “The minimum wage in Anambra State as far as they are concerned is implemented haphazardly and they don’t want to bother ourselves with that today. If the minimum wage is moved from exclusive list to current ,many state governments will force workers to resign or accept whatever is offered to them as salary.
“If the minimum wage is N30,000 and many states have not paid and if it is left for state to decide who get what as salary ,some will ask workers to resign if they do not want to collect what they can pay
“He said there must be a national bench mark for minimum wage and that is why the need for it to still remain in exclusive list .
According to him, the labour sees the move as a step against working class in Nigeria, noting that the labour is afraid that some state governments may use it to frustrate workers out of services .
According to Nubia ,the implications of transferring national minimum wage from exclusive to concurrent list will give the state governors opportunity to drag the country back to era of slave wages .He also said that the move will exponentially create and expand a community of working poor class in the country .
The state chairman also said that it could lead to the exclusion of the private sector from the concept ,rationale and logic of national minimum wage ,noting that it is the informal sector that is horrendously unfair to labour .
He appealed to speaker and members of state House of Assembly to guide themselves and fight against the evil if it comes to them . He described the bill as an anti labour bill meant to hamstring the nation’s effort to reduce poverty and inequality in the society .
Reacting ,the Speaker of Anambra state House of assembly ,Hon. Uche Okafor assured that they will do their best for the protection of workers in the state.
According to him, they will add their voices to others across the country to make sure Nigerian workers do not suffer . He also said that the state House of Assembly will not support any thing that would work against the workers in the state .
