Organised labour unions have expressed their readiness to confront any state government that refuses to begin the payment of N30,000 as new minimum wage from May.
The union made this known at a pre-May Day rally held on Monday in Abuja.
They described the implementation of the new minimum wage as “long overdue”, adding that states that default would be grounded by protests.
Comrade Nasir Idris, President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), said organised labour would not condone any state governor that failed to pay the new minimum wage, as they were all carried along in the negotiation process.
He said: “We want to call on governors to ensure that they implement the new minimum wage. The NLC and TUC will not condone any governor that fails to implement the N30,000 minimum wage. They had representatives on the committee that arrived at the new minimum wage of N30,000.
“We will make any state that refuses to implement the new wage ungovernable for the governor. We will use our might and strength to ensure that all governors pay the money.”
Comrade Najeem Yasin, Deputy President of the NLC, said the rally is “to sensitise Nigerian workers ahead of May Day on Wednesday.
"It is also part of the centenary celebrations of the International Labour Organisation," he added.
He also lamented the increasing rate of unemployment in the country, and called on government and private sectors to collaborate to create more jobs for Nigerian youth.
“As we prepare for May Day, we urge all state governments to implement the N30,000 new minimum wage. There should be no delay. The new wage is long overdue.
“This rally is also about job creation. We are not happy with the country’s high unemployment rate. We have thousands of youth that are unemployed. We call on the private sector to complement government’s efforts to eradicate unemployment in the country.
“We also call on the Federal Government to create the enabling environment for private sector participation in job creation.”
Similarly, Amaechi Uchechukwu, President of the Civil Service Union, stressed that the focus of the 2019 May Day would be to enlighten Nigerians and awaken their consciousness to demand the full implementation of the new minimum wage.
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