Minimum wage: Kaduna NLC suspends strike

The Kaduna State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress has suspended its ongoing strike over the non-payment of the N72,000 minimum wage to workers in the state.

The strike was called off for seven days to allow the state government time to revisit its payment template, which had been rejected by the labour union due to inconsistencies.

Ayuba Suleiman, the Chairman of the NLC in Kaduna, made this announcement while addressing the press in Kaduna, the state capital, on Tuesday.

According to the Chairman, the decision to suspend the strike was made after a meeting with government representatives late on Monday night.

“We met with the government representatives and agreed to suspend the strike for seven days to give them space to revisit their payment template. We rejected the payment because it exempted some workers, paid others less, and paid some more. We want a uniform payment template that reflects the new minimum wage,” Suleiman explained.

Suleiman expressed gratitude to Kaduna State workers for their support during the strike.

“We thank you for your compliance, and we assure you that your interests are our priority. You can now return to work tomorrow morning, and we will continue to fight for your rights,” he said.

The NLC Chairman also commended the National Monitoring Committee for giving the union the approval to suspend the strike.

“We contacted the NLC’s National Monitoring Committee, and they gave us the go-ahead to suspend the strike. We are confident that the state government will revisit its payment template and come up with a uniform payment structure that reflects the new minimum wage,” he said.

The PUNCH reports that the strike, which began on Monday, was in response to the state government’s failure to implement the consequential adjustments to the new minimum wage, despite paying a minimum gross salary of N72,000.

Suleiman stated that the strike was in line with directives from the national leadership of the NLC and the TUC.

However, Ibraheem Musa, the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Uba Sani, stated that the issue was related to salary adjustments, not the minimum wage itself.

“The least-paid worker in Kaduna state received N72,000 in November,” Musa said.

“The issue is not about the minimum wage, but about the consequential adjustments. We urge patience, as the state’s limited revenue, which comprises an average monthly allocation of N8 billion from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and N4 billion in internally generated revenue, makes it difficult to implement the adjustments immediately.”