The Nigeria Union of Teachers said it has filed trade disputes with the Registrar of Trade Unions against the “non-cooperative” state governments.
This is sequel to the failure of some state governors to implement the N30,000 minimum wage for teachers in their states.
The PUNCH reports that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on April 18, 2019, signed the new minimum wage of N30,000 into law, and states and federal governments were expected to comply with the new constitutional provision.
Before the new law, the minimum wage was N18,000. While some states complied, some others have yet to implement it.
Commenting on the failure of some states to implement the new minimum wage, the NUT National President, Audu Titus-Amba, said, “We have increasingly engaged our state governments on the issues of the N30,000 minimum wage and the consequential adjustments and have filed a trade dispute with the registrar of trade unions against some non-cooperative state governments.”
Though the NUT leader failed to mention the names of the defaulting states, he decried the failure of the minimum wage to meet the needs of workers.
“It is in the public domain that a loaf of bread in Nigeria today costs about N1,000 and a tin of peak cream milk is sold at about N500. How then can a worker on the N30,000 national minimum wage feed himself and his family through the month?
“We are in an election year, and the 2023 general elections will commence on February 25, 2023, and so on. I, therefore, urge all our members to vote wisely; but we should not vote for any candidate or party that is perceived not to be worker-friendly, no matter the inducement, persuasion, or any other consideration.”
