Labour to Otti: Meet Our Minimum Wage Demands or Face Indefinite Strike
The Abia State chapter of the Organised Labour issued a stern warning to the state government on Sunday. They demanded the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached in their recent meeting by July 28, 2024, stating that failure to comply would result in an indefinite strike without further notice.
This threat follows a previous strike notice from the union on June 8, 2024, due to the state government’s failure to discuss the payment of the N30,000 minimum wage and the N35,000 palliative wage award, which were approved by the Federal Government in October 2023.
In response to the union’s ultimatum, Abia State Governor Alex Otti met with labour leaders and instructed the state Accountant-General to address their demands.
Ogbonnaya Okoro, the Chairman of the Abia State NLC, claimed that the state government currently pays N20,100 to state workers, while local government employees receive N18,000 as minimum wage. However, Governor Otti contended that available records indicate the state is paying the N30,000 minimum wage.
On Sunday, July 14, 2024, Okoro reiterated that if the state government fails to fulfill the MoU by July 28, 2024, the union would commence an indefinite strike without further notice. The MoU includes provisions for the payment of the N30,000 minimum wage and the N35,000 palliative wage award, the disbursement of severance allowances to retired Directors and Permanent Secretaries, and the payment of current leave allowances, among other issues.
Ihechi Eneogwe, the state chairman of the Trade Union Congress, also emphasized that organised labour has been in discussions with the state government for over a week regarding these issues, which must be addressed promptly.
