The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Lagos State Chapter, says the N35,000 wage award in the state should not be taken as part of or in lieu of the N70,000 new minimum wage recently passed into law.
The State NLC Chairman, Funmi Sessi, who gave this explanation in Lagos on Friday, said the is concerned over a statement from a certain commission that the state was already paying more than N70,000 prescribed minimum wage to its employees.
The union called for a new wage structure starting from the approved N70,000 to be worked out to reflect various cadre and salary grade levels of all categories of workers in the state’s public service as it reflected in all the allowances.
It, therefore, urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to constitute a wage committee to look into the immediate implementation of the N70,000 to all categories of public servants in the state.
“NLC commends the state Governor Sanwo-Olu for his commitment to the welfare of workers as evident in the state being the first to implement the N35,000 wage award palliative to public servants in the nation.
“Alluding to the N35,000 palliative wage award as part of the calculated earned income in the state is not the true situation since the wage award does not reflect on the allowances,” it said.
The union also implored employers of labour in the private sector to adhere to the provisions of the law guiding the approved new minimum wage in the country.
According to the union, the welfare of the workers, who are the lifeline of any business, should be prioritized.
“Government agencies that are saddled with the responsibility to ensure compliance should be proactive and ensure fearlessness to all concerned,” the union noted.