LAGOS – (FIC Lagos Report) – The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday October 16, 2019 disclosed that the State will pay above the Federal Minimum Wage of N30,000. 2
The report from the Federal Information Centre in Lagos inferred that the Governor made the disclosure during a Town Hall meeting with organised labour unions which was held at the State House in Alausa. Adding, the statement followed from the negotiation between the organised labour and the Federal Government in the effort to resolve the impasse posed by the implementation of the consequential salary adjustment for grade levels 7-17.
While speaking during the occasion, the Governor remarked that his administration regards the issue of minimum wage very seriously, just as it knows how important and germane it is to the wellbeing of the people of the State. He expressed readiness technically to implement the new minimum wage. He adherred that he won’t forget the commitment he made during his previous interactions with the labour unions before assumption of duty, insisting that he is sticking to the promise he made earlier, however little may be as it will certainly pay more.
The governor avowed that the implementation of the new minimum wage payment would take off when the Federal Government and the labour unions conclude their negotiations. Given the position Lagos State occupies in Nigeria and the challenges workers are facing in Lagos, the governor promised to show a bit more appreciation for workers’ contributions to the growth of the State.
As part of his administration’s plan to further motivate the State’s workers, Sanwo-Olu disclosed his intentions to collaborate with the labour unions in floating a post-retirement housing scheme that would enable workers of all cadres to apply and acquire permanent homes after leaving the service. He said that to facilitate this plan, Lagos State would be donating land for the purpose, while the labour unions would source for finance to develop the scheme.
In his reactions, the Chairman of the Lagos Council of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Gbenga Ekundayo thanked the governor for fulfilling his earlier promise to re-introduce the Town Hall Meeting with labour unions and appoint more women into the State’s cabinet.
Ekundayo informed the governor that the labour unions had been meeting to develop a framework that would make the Government to capture the traders in the informal sector in the tax net. He assured that the labour unions’ recommendations would be submitted to the Head of Service (HOS), Hakeem Muri-Okunola soon.
