Cross River workers disappointed as Otu announces N40,000 new minimum wage

Civil servants successful Cross River State person shown disappointment erstwhile the governor, Bassey Otu, announced a caller minimum wage of N40,000.

The politician made the announcement portion speaking astatine the International Workers Day solemnisation astatine the U.J Essueine Stadium successful Calabar with the theme: Peoples First”.

The workers who were of precocious anticipation earlier the unexpected announcement lamented that the politician was expected to bash much than N40,000.

In an interrogation with The Guardian astatine the stadium, a civilian servant, Mrs. Isu Obiewe lamented, “I was blessed astir contiguous but the announcement of the N40,000 by the politician has spoiled my mood. N40,000 means nothing. N40k cannot instrumentality you for 1 week not to speech of a full month.

“How bash you wage your children schoolhouse fees? How bash you work your loans? How bash you wage your rent? We get loans and wage done our chemoreceptor due to the fact that the wage is thing to constitute location astir and with the hardship that is biting hard, we were expecting thing amended if not spectacular from the governor. We are highly disappointed by that announcement.

“You tin spot however that has changed the morale of workers instantly the politician made that announcement. What I was expecting should beryllium betwixt N60,000 to N70,000, it’s thing the authorities authorities tin do. Please fto the politician bash thing astir our salary, this is unfair!”

In the aforesaid vain, Mr. Ekanem Alex, said, “Workers are not blessed owed to the precocious outgo of surviving successful Nigeria. You tin spot it yourself. When Goodluck Jonathan was the President of Nigeria, this stadium utilized to beryllium filled with people, radical were happy.

“A container of atom was selling astatine N8,000 but present a container of atom goes for N75,000 to N80,000 and the minimum wage that they promised us, they person not implemented. They are adjacent causing disorder betwixt themselves. They said considering however things are successful Nigeria they should wage minimum wage astatine N155,000 which is inactive excessively poor.

“The authorities politician conscionable declared N40k, it is excessively poor! What tin N40,000 buy? In the contiguous Nigeria economy, N40,000 cannot execute anything. You can’t wage your kid schoolhouse fees, not to speech of paying rent. it is excessively poor!

“The politician should beryllium capable to industrialise the authorities compared to different states similar Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt, look astatine their minimum wages, adjacent Edo authorities that their GDP is not that fantastic, they conscionable accrued their minimum wage to N70,000 wherefore volition the Cross River State Governor support it astatine N40,000, it is excessively poor.”

Earlier, portion addressing workers astatine the U.J Essueine Stadium, Otu said owing to the peculiarity of the authorities thin resources caused by the statutory national allocation aggravated by the unfavorable authorities GDP, the caller minimum wage would beryllium successful enactment with the realities alternatively than sentiments.

“On this note, I privation to denote that the slightest paid idiosyncratic successful the Cross River State civilian work volition henceforth gain the sum of N40,000 lone arsenic a surviving wage. Modalities for contiguous implementation arrears being worked on,” Otu said.

The politician who besides appealed for beardown workforce lamented that main amongst the shortcomings successful the civilian work is debased productivity which is adjudged to beryllium hardly 5 percent.

“It truthful magnitude to wasting one’s sweetness successful the godforsaken if the authorities should output to astir each the demands of workers, yet productivity is not commensurable.” Otu stated.

The politician said, though helium was alert of different demands by the Organised Labour connected payment of workers and pensioners, which are yet to beryllium addressed.

Otu said with the continuous robust dialog betwixt the authorities and the union, the outstanding issues would beryllium resolved soon.

The Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Cross River State Council, Comrade Gregory Olayi and the State Chairman Trade Union Congress (TUC) successful their abstracted speeches said implicit the years , workers person watched the declining authorities of the civilian work from atrocious to worse.

They appealed to the politician to instrumentality Payment of gratuity of pensioners and the implementation of the yearly measurement increment of civilian servants successful the state.