Katsina state is among the three state governments yet to implement the N70,000 new national minimum wage for workers, other state include Cross River, and Zamfara states while several states have approved and commenced the implementation of the new national minimum wage.
KatsinaMirror earlier reported that the deputy governor during the maiden press briefing held on Thursday, 28th November, scheduled to hold henceforth every month confirmed that a committee has been set up to work out modalities in implementing the new minimum wage.
In his own words, the deputy governor said, “On the issue of new minimum wage, the state government is committed towards implementing it, as high powered committee has been set up to work out modalities for the implementation in the state.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has set deadline for strike action scheduled for Monday, December 1, in all the states where the minimum wage has not been implemented.
33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have now complied with the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act.
Some states, including Lagos and Rivers, have agreed to pay above the N70,000 threshold, with Lagos offering the highest wage at N85,000.
Workers in Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Oyo, and Niger states will earn N80,000, while Delta and Ogun states have approved N77,000. Other states like Ebonyi, Osun, Benue, and Kebbi have set the minimum wage at N75,000; Ondo at N73,000; Kogi and Kaduna at N72,000; and Kano and Gombe at N71,000.
Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Jigawa, Borno, Edo, Kwara, Nasarawa, Taraba, Ekiti, Bauchi, Yobe, Imo, Plateau, and the FCT have agreed to N70,000.
In Cross River, labour unions are demanding the N70,000 wage and have called for a two-day warning strike on Monday, November 24.
The strike was organised by the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) after a meeting on November 18 with the state government’s wage implementation committee ended in a deadlock.
The unions were dismayed by Governor Bassey Otu’s announcement on May 1 that the new wage would be set at N40,000, citing the state’s financial constraints.
Meanwhile, workers in the state had hoped for a higher wage, as seen in other states like Edo, Lagos, and Rivers.
According to reports, Gregory Ulayi, the NLC Chairman in Cross River, said that the union would proceed with an indefinite strike if the state government does not implement the N70,000 wage.
He described the two-day warning strike as a call to action, stressing that if negotiations fail, the union would escalate the protest to a full strike.
But the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Otu, Nsa Gill, responded by stating that the state government had formed a committee to negotiate with labor leaders in a final attempt to avoid the strike.
He confirmed that the state government was working towards implementing the N70,000 wage, with the possibility of going above that figure.
Similarly, Zamfara’s government has claimed to have made progress in its efforts to implement the N70,000 wage.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal, Mustafa Jafaru Kaura, reportedly said that the state had set up a committee to work out the implementation details and would announce the wage once the committee completes its tasks.
Kaura assured that Zamfara workers would receive the new wage soon, highlighting the governor’s commitment to improving civil servant salaries, noting that he had previously increased the state’s wage from N18,000 to N30,000.