The public hearing organized by the federal government on minimum wage kicked off in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital on Thursday, March 7.
The public hearing was declared open by the representative of the zonal chairman of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, Nonrom Theophilus.
Organized labour namely the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) demanded N850,000 as minimum wage for Akwa Ibom state workers.
State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Sunny James insisted that any governor who refuses to pay the N850,000 should be imprisoned.
James while presenting his memorandum said: “Any state governor who refuses to pay new minimum wage should be imprisoned.”
The state secretary of Comrade Kinsley Bassey lamented that Nigerian workers were paid slavery salaries.
“As Nigerian workers, we are earning slavery wages considering the high cost of living”, he said.
The state governor Umo Eno was represented by the head of the state civil service, Effiong Essien.
Speaking earlier, the zonal chairman of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, Nonrom Theophilus urged stakeholders to bare their minds to the committee.
He said: “Stakeholders shouldn’t hesitate to speak their minds to help the Tripartite Committee to come up with a solution that will help ameliorate the plight of the Nigerian workers.
“The Committee is keenly interested in receiving well-researched position papers that will aid us in making informed decisions.”
The local organizing committee chairman, Ekpo Nta, and the deputy national chairman of the TUC, Kayode Alakija were also in attendance.
