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Months after the Federal Government began the payment of N35,000, a wage award in addition to N30,000 minimum wage to workers, some states are yet to commerces the wage award, while others started but stopped along the line.
Recall that the wage award among other things was to lessen the harsh effect of economic challenges on the citizens while pending on the implementation of the new minimum wage.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, frowned at the refusal of some states to pay the wage award to their workers, describing the situation as the height of insensitivity.
Meanwhile, 15 states are paying sums ranging from N10,000 to N40,000 to their workers as wage awards or salary increments.
States that are not paying include one in the South-East, four in the South-South, three in the North-East, two in the North-Central and five in the North-West.
Meanwhile, states that paid wage awards for one to four months and stopped include Delta, Niger, Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi and Nasarawa.
On the other hand, states that are paying are Lagos, Edo, Bayelsa, Imo, Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Kano, Kwara, Cross River and Taraba.
Despite the president’s plea, many states are yet to commence paying wage awards to their workers.
While labour is demanding N250,000 minimum wage, the Federal Government and OPS have offered N62,000. President Tinubu in his Democracy Day broadcast said he will send an executive bill to the National Assembly on the issue soon.
The labour called on states to address the issues regarding the wage award to help workers cope adequately.
