After weeks of intense horse trading, the government of Akwa Ibom State has reached an agreement with the organised labour in the state on the payment of the new national minimum wage.
The state’s commissioner for labour and manpower planning, Prof. Victor Inoka, said in a telephone interview with journalists in Uyo on Friday that the government would pay above the national minimum wage of N30, 000.
Although he did no give details, he said the Joint Public Service Negotiating Committee (JPSNC), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had had signed the agreement.
“The agreement was that we pay exactly the federal government negotiated and approved percentages increase and the consequential adjustments therein,” Inoka said.
It would be recalled that the federal government and organised labour had both agreed on 66.66 per cent increase for workers between level 01 and 06, 23.2 per cent increase for workers on 07, 20 per cent increase for level 08 workers and 19 per cent increase for level 09 workers
They also agreed that for level 10-14 workers, there will be a 16 per cent salary increase, while those on level 15 to 17 will enjoy 14 per cent increment on the consolidated public service salary structure.
Inoka said an Akwa Ibom civil servant, from the lowest cadre, will go home with a salary above the national minimum wage.
“What people don’t realise is that we were not really paying N18, 000 before.
“Akwa Ibom was paying more than N18, 000. We were paying up to N19, 000 when N18, 000 was the national minimum wage.
“The implication is that once we adopted the new minimum wage on top of the salary that was on the ground the minimum wage earner in Akwa Ibom State will earn above the national minimum wage.
“Government has exceeded expectation. Unlike most states, the governor accepted to pay workers one-month arrears,” he said.
He said if there was any disparity in the salary of health workers in the state with that of their colleagues in other core oil-producing state, such would be looked into as appropriate.
“The percentages signed by the federal government have all been adopted, but there is also an understanding that whatever peculiar issues were there will need further discussions to see how that can be ameliorated”. He said.
The commissioner further revealed that both parties have agreed on the issue of arrears of minimum wage. According to him, “statistics were brought from other states to see how many states have agreed to pay arrears.
“They (Labour) saw the magnanimity of Governor Udom Emmanuel in paying the arrears despite the meagre resources available.
“Federal government had concluded their own wef April (2019), leaving the states to engage in collective bargaining with Labour, so you can’t blame states on issues of arrears. I’m sure most states have not paid arrears”.
However, Prof. Inoka said workers would get the new pay as from February.
“The governor had wanted workers to start enjoying the new minimum wage this month (January), but it has just been discovered that salary vouchers for the month had already been prepared and submitted.
“Although the payment takes effect this January, since salary vouchers have been prepared they shall start receiving from February,” he added.
Signing of the agreement between leadership of the organised labour in the state was led by the chairman of JPSNC), Ms. Tina Essien and the government negotiation team led by the secretary to the state government, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem and the head of the civil service/chairman of the new minimum wage implementation committee, Mr. Effiong Essien.
It was gathered that leadership of organised labour including the chairman of NLC, Mr. Sunny James, the chairman of TUC, Mr. Dominic Abang, the chairman of JPSNC, Essien and secretary, Mr. Akamba Awa as well as the chairman of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Anestina Iweh, expressed appreciation to the government for approving the implementation of the new minimum wage in the state.
