Labour Threatens Strike Over Delay in Implementation of Minimum Wage

Following the delay of the Federal Government to implement the new minimum wage, the Trade Union side of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) has threatened to go on strike.

According to Punch, eight industrial unions in the public services of the federal and 36 state governments under the aegis of the Trade Union Side of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council said it “has commenced mobilisation of its members nationwide to prepare them for the next line of action.”

Announcing the strike, Trade Union Side acting chairman, Simon Anchaver and Secretary, Alade Lawal, said they “may have to embark on industrial action if the current state of affairs as regards the issue of consequential adjustment arising from the new national minimum wage of N30,000.00 per month remains the same.”

“It is indeed perplexing that political office holders whose monthly take-home pay runs into millions of Naira are the ones working behind the scene to ensure that public service employees especially core civil servants continue to receive starvation wage,” they continued.

The workers complained that since the federal government signed the new N30,000 wage into law,  the government has been playing politics with it.

The unions have stated that workers will have no choice but to take ‘necessary actions to seek redress’ if the Federal Government fails to call its officials to order and address the issue of the national minimum wage.

“The time for President Buhari to act is now.” They said.