The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Kwara state chapter has said it will not rush into signing an agreement with the state government on the new minimum wage regime until it receives further directives from its national body on a new template for implementation.
The NLC State chairman, Comrade Issa Ore, dropped the hint at a meeting with chairmen of industrial unions in the state, held at the Labour House, Ilorin, the state capital.
Issa disclosed that the Congress had agreed to wait for the new template following a recent meeting with the national body held in Enugu state, where state labour leaders were cautioned against signing agreements with their state governments.
‘‘We will soon come out clear with our position on the implementation of N30,000 new minimum wage regime for workers in the state.’’
‘‘We have directives from above to soft-pedal on the agreement with the state government’’ he said.
The Kwara state labour boss also assured pensioners in the state that the NLC would make a case for their welfare and also work towards making life for all and sundry.
He further appealed to workers in the state to remain patient, assuring that their interests and yearnings will be protected to the letter.
‘‘We will work with organised labour including the Trade Union Congress, TUC and the Joint Negotiating Council, JNC, to ensure success in the struggle for the cause of workers and pensioners’’ He assured.
The congress also frowned at the recent questionnaires which purportedly emanated from the office of the Head of Service and circulated to civil servants in the state, asking workers to among others evaluate the performances of labour leaders in the state.
While condemning the act in its totality, the congress described it as a calculated attempt to polarise organised labour in the state.
