May Day: Emulate Ayade, Oshiomhole, Labour tells govs

By Solomon Okpere KADUNA—NATIONAL Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, yesterday commended governors Ben Ayade and Adams Oshiomhole of Cross Rivers and Edo states respectively, for their distinguished pronouncements in restoring the dignity of labour during the 2016 May Day celebrations nationwide. The union in a statement contended that at a period when not less than 22 states defaulted in payment of salaries of the workers, Professor Ayade announced the payment of May salaries of the state’s workers while Oshiomhole announced the increment of the National Minimum Wage from N18, 000 to N25, 000 with immediate effect, for the least paid employees in the state public service. In the statement by the union’s President, John Adaji, General Secretary, Issa Aremu, who is also Chairperson IndustriALL Sub Sahara Africa, it noted that the two governors had by their pronouncements demonstrated that the crisis of non-payments of salaries in most states was contrived, artificial, self serving on the part of the defaulting governors. The statement said: “It is not the lack of means and resources to pay their workers, but sheer lack of willingness to abide by the spirit and content of 1999 constitution which says that the primary function of the government is the security and welfare of the citizens. It is a class war the defaulting governors are waging against their workers through denial of wages. In a decent country, there is always enough for the needs of all, including workers, but not enough for the greed of rulers, some governors inclusive. We commend both Governors of Edo and Cross River for breaking ranks with the gang of some insensitive greedy governors who assign little resources to labour as critical factor of development, but throw scarce resources to phoney projects by ghost contractors in the garb of infrastructural development.''