NO fewer than seven states and the Federal Capital Territory have failed to approve the minimum wage expected to commence in October this year.
This is as 25 states have commenced payment or made a pronouncement on the amount to pay as the minimum wage.
The states that have yet to approve a particular minimum wage amount are Zamfara, Sokoto, Osun, Cross River, Imo, Plateau, Taraba, and the FCT.
This newspaper gathered that paying the N70,000 minimum wage may take a long time in Zamfara, as the state just began paying the old N30,000 minimum wage.
Recall that the N30,000 minimum wage took effect in April 2019, but Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State commenced the payment to the civil servants in June this year.
The state has yet to make any statement on the N70,000 minimum wage as of the time of filing this report.
Also, Sokoto State has yet to commence payment of the minimum wage despite Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s promise that his administration would be among the first states to do so.
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, had declared that his administration would pay the minimum wage, but the state has yet to approve any amount or commence payment of the minimum wage.
Speaking with this newspaper on Thursday, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress in the state, Bimbo Fasasi, said the state was about to finalise the implementation process.
Fasasi, a member of the Labour/Osun State Government negotiation committee on the new minimum wage, said, “We are getting there, we are at the stage of comparing tables and exchanging tables between us. I’m confident we will soon have a meeting point and we will be able to make formal announcements and implementation will most definitely follow immediately.”
Cross River State has also not approved the N70,000 minimum wage.
On May 1, 2024, Governor Bassey Otu of the state announced N40,000 as a new minimum wage for civil servants before the national minimum wage.
TUC Chairman in the state, Monday Ogbodum, said labour unions were still negotiating the new minimum wage with the state government.
The minimum wage is also yet to take effect in Imo State, though Governor Hope Uzodimma assured workers that his government was committed to its implementation.
This newspaper gathered that the state government and labour were already discussing the minimum wage.
The Vice Chairman of TUC in the state, Charles Amaru, disclosed that there was no agreement on payment by the state government yet.
He said, “The organised labour is still discussing with the state government on the template for payment. The discussion is prone to having fruitful outcomes and the government has said that everyone will be comfortable with the amount that will be paid.”
There has been grave silence on the minimum wage in Plateau State, just as the Taraba State Government has yet to commence the payment of the N70,000.
On September 5, 2024, Governor Agbu Kefas of the state said he was prepared to pay the new national minimum wage, adding that the Head of Service and the labour were already discussing the implementation.
The FCT has yet to speak on the minimum wage implementation as of the time of filing this report.
However, workers across the country have continued to lament the lingering economic hardship, noting that N70,000 is no longer enough for them.
The workers who spoke randomly with Saturday PUNCH said the fuel and electricity tariff hikes, inflation, and high cost of living have seriously reduced the value of the N70,000.
A staff member of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Abuja, who pleaded anonymity stated that the labour leaders made a mistake by accepting the N70,000 minimum wage without considering the economic reality.
“We were not expecting our leaders to accept the N70,000 as minimum wage because the price of foodstuffs, fuel, electricity tariffs, and fuels continue to go up.
“The amount is not enough for us at all. The living standard in Abuja is high and it is a reality that we cannot survive on N70,000 every month.”
Also, a civil servant at Ayedire Local Government, Osun State, said the N70,000 was not proportionate to the economic hardship, adding that the minimum wage couldn’t feed a family for two weeks.
He queried, “What is the quality and quantity of the foodstuffs to buy with N70,000? How long will it take to exhaust the minimum wage in the face of fuel hikes and inflation? Life is not easy for us.”
Recall that the organised labour said they accepted the N70,000 minimum wage because of President Bola Tinubu’s promise not to increase fuel prices.
But the fuel price was increased in September and has continued to increase since then, a development that made the Nigeria Labour Congress declare that the president betrayed the labour unions.
The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, on September 20, said Tinubu betrayed the organised labour, using fuel as bait.
Ajaero noted that the cost of petrol has undermined the benefits of the N70,000 national minimum wage, urging the government to urgently address the pressing issues of hunger, poverty, and frustration affecting Nigerians.
Ajaero recounted discussions with Tinubu before the acceptance of the N70,000 minimum wage, stating that during negotiations, the president offered the option of accepting the N70,000 wage without further increase in fuel prices.