Minimum Wage: Cross River Workers Shun Gov Otu’s Appeal, Begin Warning Strike

Despite an appeal by the Cross River State governor, Senator Bassey Otu to shelve their planned two-day warning strike, workers on Monday embarked on the strike over government’s failure to implement N70,000 new minimum wage.

The non-implementation of the new minimum wage angered the state branch of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

LEADERSHIP however, gathered that workers who turned up for work on Monday at the new and old Secretariat Complex and State High Court met the gates under locks with security personnel stationed at the secretariat gates to prevent hoodlums from gaining access into the facility to vandalise government property.

A worker, Sylvester Bassey, who spoke bitterly against the strike, accused the Out-led administration of employing delay tactics to avoid implementation of the new minimum wage as being done by other state governors.

Bassey said, “We are aware that most states have either commenced payment or have reached agreement with the organised labour for the implementation of the new wage, we are surprised that our government is still dragging its foot on the matter.”

A release by the Action Committee of the organised labour in the state and sighted by LEADERSHIP, stated that following government’s inability to show greater commitment in the negotiation of consequential adjustment as it affects the New Minimum Wage implementation, and a notice of a two-day warning strike, they had no other alternative than to call out workers on strike to press home their demand.

The labour unions stressed that the warning strike may snowballed into a full-blown industrial action should the government failed to implement the minimum wage before December 1 as demanded.

Governor Otu had during the weekend appealed to the workers to shelve the strike, saying he was doing everything humanly possible to comply with payment of the new minimum wage of N70,000 while emphasising his administration’s commitment to prioritise the welfare of state workers.