Workers in Borno State’s local governments staged a walkout on Friday over the state government’s refusal to pay the N70,000 minimum wage.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) coordinated the demonstration in Maiduguri to commemorate International Workers’ Day.
The state NLC chairman, Yusuf Inuwa, spoke to reporters during the demonstration and claimed that those working for local governments were among those hit worst by the country’s current economic crisis.
He claimed that in order to bring attention to their situation, workers decided to celebrate Workers’ Day by taking to the streets.
The national federation of Nigerian workers’ unions secured a minimum salary of N70,000 two years ago. “That means all states are required by law to pay their workers,” he stated.
Although Inuwa admitted that the new wage had been instituted by the state government for healthcare workers and elementary school teachers, she claimed that local government employees had not yet been compensated.
Here in Borno, we have taken care of primary healthcare workers and educators, but we haven’t caught up with the local government employees just yet. “When one person is hurt, it affects everyone,” he declared.
The impacted employees, he said, could not continue to pay the ever-increasing cost of living, and the situation was thus intolerable.