Pix of Abia State Commissioner for Information and information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu
Otti, ready to pay N70, 000 minimum wage from October – Commissioner
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Abia State Government says it is ready to start paying the New Minimum Wage of N70, 000 to its workforce from the end of this October, an action the organized Labour and civil servants are doubting would be possible.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, who reiterated government’s commitment to paying the new Minimum Wage while briefing journalists at Government House on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, on the outcome of this week’s Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti, declared that payment of the minimum wage was in line with the Governor Alex Otti’s commitment to the welfare of Abia workers.
“Baring any unforeseen circumstances, the state government will commence the payment of the new Minimum Wage this month of October.
“The Governor, Dr Alex Otti (OFR), is committed to paying that Minimum Wage because of his disposition towards the welfare of our workers. There is now hope that within the next couple of days, everything being equal, payment of minimum wage will commence,” Kanu said.
It is not known, as of Press time, if the joint Committee on the Implementation of the new Minimum Wage, set up by the state government, has concluded its assignment and made any submission to government, as the Commissioner kept mum on the issue.
The Committee, comprising government officials and labour leaders, were among other tasks, expected to work out the consequential adjustment on which payment of the new Minimum Wage would be based.
Civil servants in the said are expressing doubts if the payment would actually commence this month because they said that staff of their various finance departments were claiming that the new minimum wage was not factored into the payment vouchers they were working on for payment of October salaries.
Also, sources at the Abia Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), claim that they have not received any correspondence with regard to the outcome of the work of the joint Committee on the new Minimum Wage, adding that it would not be proper for government to proceed with implementation of the new Minimum Wage without taking Labour into confidence.
But the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Comrade Sunny Onwuma, maintained that the most important thing is that no civil servant on Level 1, Step 1, would receive less than N70, 000 as salary under the new Minimum Wage.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, was also present at the briefing.
