The Zamfara State Government has successfully averted an indefinite strike by the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the labour union regarding the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage.
The agreement, signed late on Monday, followed several rounds of negotiations between state government officials and NLC representatives.
In addition to the minimum wage, the agreement addressed other concerns raised by the union, including improved welfare packages for state workers.
Comrade Sani Haliru, Chairman of the NLC in Zamfara, confirmed the suspension of the planned strike and described the MoU as a victory for workers’ rights. He also commended Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration for prioritizing workers’ welfare and engaging in dialogue.
Haliru said, “If you can see all our circulars, it states that a state where there is no implementation or an agreement, commitment signed, but we all witnessed what happened here this night, even the state Governor is inside his office waiting for the outcome of this meeting.”
“Before I was not happy with what was on the ground because I said we should come to an agreement but they said no they could not do it, I said okay let us go ahead with the strike, now that they have done what is expected of them, we would refer to our National Headquarters.”
Abubakar Nakwada, the Secretary to the State Government, represented the Zamfara Government at the meeting and expressed commitment to the agreed wage increase. He also assured that the state government would continue fostering a cooperative relationship with labour unions.
Nakwada stated, “For me leading from the state government side, I would say it’s a very fruitful meeting, it has taken us many days but by special grace of God, today we are able to meet at a certain point of N70,000 minimum wage, the state Government has accepted and we have signed the MoU, no Victor no vanquish.”
He also confirmed that the new minimum wage of N70,000 would be implemented starting in March 2025.
“What we have signed, the implementation date is going to be in March 2025, reasons for that is that we have a committee working on the verification of the entire state workforce, this is intended to align the nominal role with regards to payroll so that it will balance, we are almost over 50% of that.”
He added, “For us that is the assurance we have received from the labour unions, so we really don’t expect any strike from them, that’s an assurance they gave us during the meeting.”
The Zamfara NLC had planned to begin an indefinite strike today (Tuesday) if the state government did not meet their demand for the minimum wage.
Zamfara is one of twelve states identified by the NLC National body for industrial action due to the failure of some state governments to implement the new national minimum wage approved by the federal government.
