Governor Diri sets up committee on new minimum wage

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has acceptable up a committee to enactment retired the modalities for implementing a caller minimum wage for workers successful the state’s civilian service.

The Secretary to the State Government, Nimibofa Ayawei, heads the committee.

Other members included the Head of Service, Biobelemoye Charles-Onyeama; the Commissioner for Finance, Maxwell Ebibai; his Labour, Productivity and Employment counterpart, Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai; and the Chief of Staff, Government House, Peter Akpe.

The committee has until the extremity of May 2024 to taxable its report.

Mr Diri made the pronouncement connected Wednesday astatine the 2024 Workers Day solemnisation astatine the Peace Park successful Yenagoa.

The politician assured that his medication would instrumentality a caller minimum wage erstwhile the committee submits its report, adding that the authorities workers ever person emoluments arsenic their national counterparts.

Mr Diri stressed that the payment of workers had ever been a apical precedence of his medication arsenic attested to by the galore worker-friendly policies helium initiated.

He arsenic promised to commence the gathering of a caller befitting secretariat analyzable for civilian servants to accommodate the expanding workforce.

The state’s governor, who described workers arsenic the backbone of improvement successful society, attributed the achievements successful his archetypal tenure to the enactment and contributions of civilian servants.

He called for continuous harmonious moving narration with his authorities successful bid to bequeath lasting legacies.

Mr Diri besides approved an yearly measurement increment for civilian servants, merchandise of funds for completion of the authorities secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

“The committee is to instantly look into what the Federal Government has done connected the projected minimum wage and spot the anticipation of domesticating it successful Bayelsa.

“It is fixed until the extremity of May to taxable its report.

“My beloved workers of Bayelsa, you person done truthful well. You cognize that you are the motor country of this government. We person succeeded due to the fact that you person done truthful well. We person commendations everyplace we go.

“In presumption of infrastructure, quality capableness gathering and different sectors, we person done well. I accidental you should proceed to support it up.

“The tangible grounds of these fruitful collaborations is that abundantly, we person made it wide for each to spot successful the plethora of transformative bequest projects that present span the magnitude and breadth of our state, touching the lives of each Bayelsa people.

“Let america proceed to enactment unneurotic truthful that the aboriginal of our authorities volition beryllium established.

“Beyond the ongoing renovation, we volition look astatine the enactment of gathering a caller state-of-the-art secretariat analyzable to accommodate the expanding workforce,” helium said.

Earlier, the workers thanked the politician for his labour-friendly policies that had improved their moving condition.

In a associated code by the chairperson of the NLC, Barnabas Simon, and his TUC counterpart, Laye Julius, the workers specifically thanked the politician for approving outgo of wage grant to each categories of workers successful Bayelsa.

“We convey you for the regular behaviour of promotion exercises and implementation, punctual outgo of salaries of workers and pensioners, among others.

“Organised labour successful Bayelsa is astir sincerely grateful for your benignant and favourable disposition to the needs and aspirations of workers successful the state.

“Your open-door policies and swift effect to astir of our demands successful the past 4 years is highly appreciated,” they said.

They, however, appealed for an upward reappraisal of the wage award, improved proscription strategy for workers, and mapping retired of acquired lands for civilian servants.

(NAN)