The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Zamfara have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the state government to address discrepancies in the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage.
The ultimatum was announced at a press conference in Gusau on Wednesday following an emergency meeting of labour leaders.
Zamfara State NLC Chairman, Alhaji Sani Halliru, expressed disappointment over inconsistencies in the March salary payments. He criticised the government for failing to implement the agreed-upon minimum wage despite earlier commitments.
“The March salary was paid yesterday, but unfortunately, the minimum wage was not implemented as promised. Some workers received only an increase of N3,000, N4,000, N5,000, or N7,000, which is far below the agreed rate,” Halliru stated.
He further alleged that some employees had been unjustly removed from the payroll, exacerbating tensions between the government and labour unions.
“This is a breach of trust by the state government towards the labour movement,” he added.
State TUC Chairman, Sa’idu Mudi, noted that Zamfara remains the only state in Nigeria yet to fully implement the N70,000 minimum wage.
“The entire organised labour and workers in the state are deeply disappointed with the government’s handling of this matter. We also fault the technical committee set up to oversee its implementation,” Mudi said.
He accused certain government officials of deliberately sabotaging efforts to implement the minimum wage and called on Governor Dauda Lawal to intervene by forming a new committee to investigate and resolve the issue.
Labour unions have warned that if their demands are not met within two weeks, they will take decisive action to protect workers’ rights.
