29th August, 2024
By Alex Enebeli
Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State has inaugurated the committee for the implementation of the new national minimum wage for civil and public servants in the state.
Mbah, while inaugurating the committee on Thursday at the Government House in Enugu, said that the welfare of workers was in the priority list of his administration. He therefore gave the committee a maximum of one month to submit its report.
The committee has the Head of Service, Kenneth Ugwu, as its Chairman and the representative of the Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Sandra George, as Secretary.
The committee also has the Commissioner of Finance and Economic Development, Dr Nathaniel Uramah, as a member.
Others are the Commissioner for Labour and Employment, Mr Chika Ugwuoke and the Accountant-General of the state, Mr Anthony Okenwa, as members. The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Enugu State chapter, Mr Fabian Nwigbo and Chairman of the state chapter of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Benedict Asogwa are representing the organised labour.
Others in the committee are the Chairman, Public Service Joint Negotiating Council, Mr Ezekiel Omeh and Mr Udaya Ani, Chairman, National Union of Local Government Employees, Enugu chapter
The governor reiterated his commitment to workers’ welfare and urged the committee to consult widely with relevant stakeholders, especially the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to ensure that the workers took ownership of the eventual report. He said that the government had set very ambitious targets for itself, adding that in achieving those targets, a motivated workforce was needed.
“So we recognised it from the very onset, which is why before the discussions on the new minimum wage came up, we introduced the wage awards and made a commitment that we would not cease until we migrate to the new minimum wage. “That is why the constitution of this committee for the implementation of the new national minimum wage is a very important exercise, and we have carefully selected its members.
“We believe that you will be able to discharge yourself creditably,” Mbah said. He charged the members to come up with a comprehensive review of the salary chart of all categories and cadres of workers of both the state and the local government levels, using the existing state salary chart as a guide.
“Finally, we will expect to have a detailed report submitted within a month. We want to get on with the implementation of the new national minimum wage as quickly as possible,” the governor said.
Responding, the chairman of the committee, Ugwu, assured the governor that the committee would surpass his expectation, both in terms of time frame and quality of work.
He said that the committee was aware of the governor’s commitment to the welfare and motivation of Enugu workers, hence, all recommendations would be aligned with his vision for a highly motivated and productive public service.
“We are not only going to meet your expectations, we are also going to surpass them.
“One-month period is given to us, but I assure you that we are going to submit our recommendations in record time,” Ugwu said.
Addressing newsmen, the TUC chairman, Asogwa, said that Mbah’s prompt action did not come to Enugu workers as a surprise, as he had been paying wage awards to workers since 2023. According to him, the governor also made a promise to the health professionals to pay the 100 per cent Consolidated Health Workers Salary Structure (CONHESS) starting from August.
“If you go to the health industry within the state today, all the health professionals are happy, because they have started receiving the new salary alerts as promised.
“So, setting up this committee did not come to us as a surprise because we know the kind of person we have as a governor,” he said. (NAN)
