The Abia State Government has dismissed claims by the national leadership of Organized Labour that the state is among 14 states yet to implement the new National Minimum Wage describing the information as false and misleading.
The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, while addressing journalists on Sunday, at the Government House, Umuahia, during a meeting with the Organized Labour in the state, clarified that Abia was one of the first states to implement the new wage and had been paying workers under the new structure since October.
“It is misinformation that Abia State has not started the implementation of the new minimum wage. Of course, Abia workers have been paid the first salary according to the new minimum wage in their October salary, and that has also been done this last November,” Ajagba said.
He reaffirmed Governor Otti’s commitment to workers’ welfare, emphasizing the administration’s dedication to maintaining industrial harmony.
“Ajagba expressed surprise that Abia was included among states yet to implement the minimum wage, pointing out that the only issue was minor discrepancies raised by the Organized Labour after implementation.
“After the payment was made, the Organized Labour made some observations which they communicated back to us. In the same spirit of being a very responsible government, we assured them that it would be looked into,” he added.
Pastor Ajagba assured workers that any shortcomings in the implementation, particularly affecting workers on grade levels 8 to 16, would be resolved.
Speaking at the briefing, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ogbonnaya Okoro, and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Chairman, Comrade Ihechi Eneogwe, confirmed that the minimum wage had been implemented since October.
However, they highlighted that the implementation favoured workers on grade levels 1 to 7, while those on levels 8 to 16 were yet to receive proper adjustments.
“Let me categorically say that Abia State implemented the minimum wage in October, but it did not favour all the workers. It favoured workers between levels 1 to 7. From 8 to 16 were not properly taken care of,” said Comrade Okoro.
He explained that the anomaly caused lower-level workers to receive higher payments than those on higher grades, such as levels 8 and above. Organized Labour has since engaged with the government to address the issue.
“Immediately that minimum wage was implemented in October, those in level 7 were taking higher payment than those in level 10. And it’s not supposed to be like that,” Okoro added.
The Commissioner for Finance, Mr Uwaoma Ukandu; Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Comrade Sunny Onwuma; the Head of Service, Dr Ngozi Obioma; and Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma, were among other government officials present at the briefing and they assured workers that the anomalies would be corrected soon to ensure fairness for all grade levels.
Abia Govt, Labour Union Confirm New Minimum Wage Implementation is first published on The Whistler Newspaper