Organised labour has warned state governments and employers against failing to implement the national minimum wage of N70,000 and the consequential salary adjustments.
Labour has set the end of the first quarter of 2025 as the deadline for full compliance and vowed to take decisive action against defaulters.
Speaking at the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) National Leadership Retreat in Abuja yesterday, SSANU president Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, who also serves as NLC’s national internal auditor, condemned the failure of some states and institutions to honour the new wage structure.
He said, “The problem with the government and employers of labour is that in sincerity, the national minimum wage has been signed into law, and payments should have commenced nationwide, but in most institutions and states, these things are just an award.
Most universities and state governments did to award a certain amount, a figure they are merely using to play with workers’ intelligence”.
He continued, “But I am happy that the NLC is not sleeping on this matter and that we have been engaging. You can see that it was only when the NLC gave the directive that any state government that refused to implement the national minimum wage should face a strike that you started seeing different state governors rushing to sign. Most are even kangaroo agreements that have not seen the light of day.
But as we advance, I can assure you because I am the National Internal Auditor of the NLC. At the level of leadership, we are taking very stringent measures to ensure that between now and the end of this first quarter, any state or employer of labour that refuses to implement the national minimum wage and refuses to adjust workers’ salaries accordingly will face the consequences”.
Ibrahim assured workers that the NLC is committed to enforcing compliance, warning that any employer who fails to adjust salaries accordingly will face serious consequences.
Addressing allegations that the vice-chancellor was asked to pay N8 million during budget defence, Ibrahim stated that labour unions would take action against lawmakers involved if proven true.
He criticised public universities’ dire financial state, questioning how the vice chancellor could afford such payments when many institutions cannot even pay their electricity bills.
Ibrahim vowed that the labour movement would resist any attempt to exploit educational institutions.
The SSANU president also emphasised the need for continuous staff training and better funding of tertiary institutions, stressing that universities must remain centres of learning and innovation.
