Amid the ongoing tussle between organised labour unions and the Federal Government over new minimum wage, Akwa Ibom State Government has been accused of illegal deductions from workers’ salaries to fund government’s events.
The state government was alleged to have illegally deducted N1,300 from the salary of each worker in the state to fund government’s events.
In a reaction to the allegation peddled against the state government, Ekereobong Akpan, the Akwa Ibom Head of Service, said there was no illegal deduction from the salaries of civil servants in the state.
Akpan said: “There was no iota of truth in the claim that the Akwa Ibom Government deducts some amount of money from the salaries of workers in the state. The government is not only paying complete salaries of workers but also paying on time.”
In the past months, Nigerian organised labour unions have unanimously been championing the course for the Federal Government to boost the welfare of civil servants across the country.
The workers have also been demanding a minimum wage of N30,000 for workers in the public sector.
Prior to This
President Muhammadu Buhari, in November last year, inaugurated the National Wage Committee led by former minister and Head of Service, Ama Pepple.
During the 40th anniversary of NLC in Abuja, the minister had stated that the new minimum wage would commence before the end of September, this year. He later backtracked, because the state governors were yet to submit their proposal on a new wage system.
The minimum wage was last increased by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2011 from ₦7,500 to ₦18,000.
Recall that last week, the International Labour Organisation released a report which showed that workers around the world are earning less. This is most pronounced in developing countries like Nigeria, where the Government cannot afford to pay N30,000 minimum wage despite being one of the world’s top crude producers.
Meanwhile, South Africa recently increased its minimum wage to N126,480, making it one of the highest paying in Africa.