“The government of Bayelsa has announced to labour leaders that we are not against the N30,000 minimum wage principle, on different time and forum. Now we are waiting for the wages commission to work out the modalities, because there's something called the national income and wages commission. We still have to wait for them to work out the details and send to different states.”
Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State, says he awaits national income and minimum wage directives on the structure and template to all the states before implementating the N30,000 minimum wage.
At the Workers Day celebrations on Wednesday themed 'Another 100 years of struggle for jobs, dignity and social justice in Nigeria’, held at the Isaac Boro Park, Yenagoa, Dickson expressed support for the payment of N30,000 minimum wage to workers. He said he wasn’t afraid to pay, but he would, after the wages commission has worked out the modalities.
“The minimum wage is a topical issue, but let me tell you, I have been a believer of N30,000 minimum wage for long, and I believe in it,” he said.
“The government of Bayelsa has announced to labour leaders that we are not against the N30,000 minimum wage principle, on different time and forum.
“Now we are waiting for the wages commission to work out the modalities, because there's something called the national income and wages commission. We still have to wait for them to work out the details and send to different states.”
Earlier in his address, Comrade John Bipre Ndiomu, Chairman of the Bayelsa State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), appreciated the Governor for instituting programmes and policies geared towards improving the lives of Bayelsans, and for the drive to improve the infrastructural base of the state.
However, he lamented the insecurity in the state, saying it poses great threat to lives and properties.