Esio Godspeed
Recently, the State Secretary of NLC, Akwa Ibom State chapter, Comrade Alpha J. Marshall, while speaking on a radio programme, hinted that the State Government had presented their template proposal of #47,000.
According to him, the Government side argued that public servants in the state were already enjoying #33,000 as minimum wage.
He said, the representatives from the Government side proposed #47,000 to be added to #33,000, which will give a total of #80,000 minimum wage and this payment would be paid across all levels.
He however stated that, On the side of labour, the union representatives have frowned at this inhumane proposal from the government side and argued that the minimum wage should be calculated based on percentages which in the long run should benefit levels 1 to 14 as these group are the most affected by the economic downturn in the country.
It could also interest us, that labour is not leaving any stone unturned to make sure the Akwa Ibom State Government implements the New Minimum wage in the state effective, 1st of December or announces and approves a possible date with agreement to pay all the accrued arrears effective August, 2024.
According to him, failure to reach an agreement that will represent the interests of all Akwa Ibom workers, the State Union would not hesitate to down tools.
We may recall, that recently, the National President of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajero has ordered its members in States where the minimum wage has not been implemented to embark on a strike action from the 1st of December.
In another development, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno while speaking at a church event recently, approved the payments of an extra 13th-month salary code-named, “Umo-Ember”, to all public servants in the State. This also comes a few days after the State Government directed all MDAs to carry out a thorough verification process of workers, an exercise which is meant to identify ghost workers and point out areas of redundancy in the system.
This development has angered some groups of workers in the State. While some feel is a delayed tactic to avoid the implementation of the new minimum wage, others fear it may be another way for the retrenchment of workers.
But this writer feels, that the State Governor who has just been awarded the most workers-friendly Governor recently by NULGE, Akwa Ibom State Chapter, during their 8th Quadrennial Delegate Conference, has better plans for Akwa Ibom workers.
Conclusively, workers in the State should hope that in the end, every policy of the State Government will translate to putting smiles on their faces.
These are some of the recent details and issues surrounding the New minimum wage in the State.
A greater Akwa Ibom we pray 
Esio Godspeed
