Okenyi Kenechi
The Rivers State Government has unsealed the secretariat of the Nigerian Labour Congress after six months.
This was part of the resolution reached during a 6-hour meeting between representatives of the State chapter of the Organised Labour and the Rivers State Government.
They also agreed to shelve the protest slated for today.
Rivers State Government sealed the NLC secretariat in March due to demands by labour to immediately reconvene the minimum wage committee to address the issue of surrounding its implementation.
Chairman of NLC in Rivers, Mrs Beatrice Itubo had insisted that Rivers State Government employees were yet to be paid the agreed minimum wage.
Rivers NLC had lamented the discrepancies in the payment of the new minimum wage by Wike’s administration.
They also accused the government of rushing to implement the new minimum wage without a signed agreement between the state government and labour.
The sealed state secretariat of NLC in Port Harcourt was donated by Wike’s administration, to replace a demolished dilapidated structure.
In a document sighted by the theportcitynews and signed by both the representatives of the state government and Organised Labour on Monday night, the two warring groups agreed on seven key points.
Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Tammy Danagogo; Head of Service, Rufus Godwins; Paulinus Nsirim, Commissioner for Information and Communication; and Ayebaesin Beredugo; the executive assistant to Governor Nyesom Wike signed on behalf of the state government.
Emmanuel Ugboja, Gen. Sec, NLC; Musa Lawal, Gen. Sec, TUC; Beatrice Itubo, NLC state chairman; Austin Jonah, state chairman, TUC; Chuku Emecheta, JPSNC, Rivers State and Obi Fortune, Gen. Sec, TUC, Rivers State, signed for the Organized Labour.
Some of the points include Signing an agreement on minimum wage with both parties agreeing on the implementation of the new national minimum wage and consequential adjustments.
They also agreed to immediately unseal the secretariat of the Nigerian Labour Congress which was sealed in March by the state government on the pretence of carrying out correction works.
Other agreements include payment of Check-off Dues, Payment of outstanding Health Workers Salaries, suspension of the planned protest, setting up of a tripartite committee to discuss and resolve all the outstanding issues including payment of pension and gratuities and discontinuing of ongoing litigations.
NLC President, Ayuba Wabba who addressed workers and unions in Port Harcourt during the unsealing of the premises on Tuesday explained that the unions called off the protest because they have extracted a legally binding document from the state government.
Hear NLC President, Ayuba Wabba address workers and unions in Port Harcourt as he explains reasons calling off the protest pic.twitter.com/8o6y7qiP2a
— Uche Okoro (@UOkoroTVC) September 8, 2020
