Enugu workers embark on warning strike over minimum wage

The Organised Labour in Enugu state, which include the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC); Trade Union Congress (TUC); Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT); and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Wednesday, began a three-day warning strike over the N30, 000 minimum wage.

The three-day warning strike is to force the local government councils in the state to start paying their workers the new national minimum wage.

It is also to ensure that the primary school teachers start receiving their own minimum wage like their counterparts in secondary schools and core civil servants who had started receiving the enhanced wage since last year.

Chairman of TUC, Comrade Bennett Asogwa, said they held a meeting sometime ago and decided to embark on the solidarity strike to help their NULGE counterpart.

He said they knew that NULGE alone might not be able force the authorities to pay the minimum wage since they had been fighting to no avail.

“Yes, we embarked on a solidarity strike for the local government workers and the primary school teachers.  They ought to be paid the minimum wage.  They don’t have a separate market,” he said.

The NULGE President, Comrade Kenneth Ugwueze, who also confirmed the strike said they embarked on the warning strike to press home the demand for minimum wage for local government staff and primary school teachers.

Efforts to get the chairman of NLC, Comrade Virginia Nwobodo to comment on the development proved abortive as he was not responding to calls put to his GSM phone.

Meanwhile, the outgoing chairman of Enugu East local government area, Prince Alex Ugwu said the council chairmen lacked the financial muscle to pay the minimum wage. He said that it won’t be nice to start paying to stop afterwards.

Ugwu said that in spite of the financial autonomy the councils are now enjoying, they cannot pay the minimum wage.

“It is not as if the chairmen do not want to pay the minimum wage.  We don’t have the fund to do so.  Will it be nice we start paying the minimum wage and later stop or start owing,” he queried.

ALGON and chairman of Udenu local government area, Gov. Ugwuanyi’s local government, Hon. Solomon Onah, simply said it is not Enugu state alone that council workers are not being paid the new minimum wage.