TUC: Mbah Paying N30,000 Minimum Wage, Salary Awards

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Enugu State has  clarified the statement credited to the Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Chris Onyeka, which listed Enugu state among the states yet to implement the N30,000 minimum wage.

Onyeka had mentioned Abia, Enugu, Bayelsa, Delta, Nasarawa, Gombe, Adamawa, Niger, Sokoto , Imo, Anambra, Taraba, Benue, and Zamfara as states yet to implement the N30,000 minimum wage in defiance of the  Minimum Wage Act, 2019.

However, reacting to the development yesterday, the State Chairman of TUC, Ben Asogwa, said the NLC chieftain must have been misquoted regarding Enugu state.

“The payment of N30,000 minimum wage and its consequential adjustment started in February 2020 for all the state workers while the local government workers and primary school teachers were paid with 25 per cent consequential adjustment.

“However, Governor Peter Mbah on assumption of office approved the full implementation for local government workers and primary school teachers.

“Besides that, the Mbah administration has also been paying  monthly wage awards of  N10,000 to local government workers and primary school teachers and N25,000 to all categories of state  workers from December, 2023 till date to cushion the current economic hardship pending the conclusion of negotiation of a new minimum wage.

“The governor recently approved the 100 per cent Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for nurses and midwives and Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals in the state.

“So, nobody is talking about N30,000 minimum wage in Enugu again. We are actually waiting for the conclusion of negotiation of a new minimum wage, which our governor has already assured us that he would key into once the negotiation ends at the federal level.

“In fact, the governor is conveniently disposed to the welfare of workers,” Asogwa said.