Workers in Jigawa state tell the NLC, “Forget about our three demands, we need a N35,000 wage adjustment

Workers in Jigawa state tell the NLC, “Forget about our three demands, we need a N35,000 wage adjustment.”Workers in Jigawa State’s civil service have encouraged the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to put aside its demands and instead focus on enforcing the state’s N35,000 salary award.

Concerns were voiced by several workers over the recent deal between the Federal Government and NLC to delay the scheduled industrial action starting on Tuesday.

Federal government employees will receive a N35,000 wage award for a six-month period, while state NLC chapters have been instructed to fully implement the same amount for local government employees.

In response to the orders, Jigawa State civil servant Malam Aliyu said that the state chapters were “dancing to the tune of state governments.”

The national NLC has done its part; now it is up to the individual state chapters to actively pursue and insist upon full compliance without concession.

He said that the federal government had already provided sufficient funds to the states and that there was no need for the states to cut the said amount. He noted that the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy had a similar impact on federal, state, and local government employees.

Another staff member, Iliya, criticized the state NLC for only submitting three demands to the state government, rather than working to have state and local government employees receive the same wage award.

The NLC in Jigawa has become irrational and unfocused. As the National body of the labor union did with the FG, it is the time to protect workers’ rights on the state level. However, NLC Jigawa is making three requests, including a transportation stipend, a food subsidy, and a soft loan.

He emphasized that the NLC should negotiate with the state government on the basis of what the federal government actually does, saying, “We don’t want any soft loan or palliatives.”

They pleaded with governor Malam Umar Namadi to not force the amount on state and local government employees without first negotiating a better deal for them