Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State today, said that the state would commence implementation of the new national minimum wage immediately.
He gave the indication while addressing workers at the May Day rally, organised by the State chapters of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
He said modalities are already being put in place to ratify the increase.
Speaking to member of the NLC and TUC, governor Obaseki said:
“All I want to say is that our government is very appreciative of you. When minimum wage was N18,000, we were paying N25,000 in Edo state, so N30,000 was just minimum.”
“What it means is that all of you have to now commit to working hard. What we pay you is not what is important, but it is what you produce that is important. And if government is paying you N30,000, are you producing N30,000 monthly for government,” he said.
He said his administration was committed to the welfare of workers and has demonstrated it with the reforms and revamp of infrastructure to assure a better work environment, work-life balance and after service benefits.
” I will not sack workers but to retrain them to be more efficient and abreast with the latest trends in their field of expertise. We have reached an advanced stage in the construction of a building for staff training and have secured partnership with international organisations on capacity building for workers, including the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). This will help in building a globally-competitive workforce.”
He however charged the workers to work hard to justify their new wage, even as he promised that the state could pay more if revenue generation increases.
