Workers in Zamfara on Friday began an indefinite strike to demand full implementation of the new national minimum wage by the State Government.
The strike was in response to a directive from the state’s branch of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), directing the workers to stay at home from Friday, until further notice.
In a radio announcement by the state’s NLC Chairman, Abdullahi Modomawa, the union asked all its members to stay at home “because the State Government has failed us and we have not reached an agreement.”
The strike followed the failure of the State Government’s negotiators and officials of labour to agree on details of the minimum wage.
The workers have insisted that all allowances accruing to workers should be settled, including weighing allowances for media practitioners.
However, the government said that if it would pay the N18, 000 minimum wage, the workers would forfeit all other allowances.
In a swift reaction, the state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, said that he will not hesitate to sack any worker who fails to return to work on Monday.
“I will not beg the workers to return to work and I will not hesitate to stop the salary of any of them who fails to return to his duty post by Monday,” the governor said.
“If there is anyone on the State Government’s pay-roll collecting less than the N18, 000, such worker should come forward and say so; no one can compel me to pay beyond that,” he said.
Mr Yari said since his administration stated implementing the N18, 000 minimum wage, the amount spent monthly on salary had risen from N838 million to N1.33 billion.
