From Sylvia Udegbunam Enugu

Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah has inaugurated the Committee for the implementation of the New National Minimum Wage for Civil and Public Servants in Enugu State, giving the Committee a maximum of one month to submit its report.

The Committee which was inaugurated  on Thursday at the Government House, Enugu, had the Head of Service, Kenneth Ugwu, as Chairman; representative of the Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Sandra George as Secretary and the Commissioner of Finance and Economic Development, Dr.

Others were the Commissioner for Labour and Employment, Pharm Chika Ugwuoke; and Accountant-General of the state, Anthony Okenwa as members.

On the Labour side, the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),  Enugu State chapter, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo and  Chairman of the state chapter of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Benedict Asogwa.

Others were the Chairman, Public Service Joint Negotiating Council, Comrade Ezekiel Omeh and Chairman of the state chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees, Udaya Ani as members.

Inaugurating the Committee, Mbah reiterated his commitment to workers’ welfare and urged the Committee to consult widely with relevant stakeholders, especially the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, to ensure that the workers take ownership of the eventual report.

“We have set very ambitious targets for ourselves, and we know that the only thing between us and achieving these targets will be the human resources because as great as our visions and dreams might be, it would be impossible to achieve anything if we do not have a motivated workforce.

“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 members of this committee. We believe that you will be able to discharge yourself creditably,” he said.

The governor added that, “We expect, as terms of reference, you should be able to come up with a comprehensive review of the salary chart of all categories and cadres of workers of the state and the local government levels, the unified local government system, using the existing state salary chat as a guide.

The Committee Chairman and Head of Service, Kenneth Ugwu, assured the governor that the committee would surpass his expectation both in terms of time frame and quality of work.

Speaking to Government House correspondent, Chairman of TUC, Comrade Asogwa, said Governor Mbah’s prompt action did not come to Enugu workers as a surprise, as he had been paying wage awards to workers since 2023.

“The governor also made a promise to the health professionals to pay the 100 per cent Consolidated Health Workers Salary Structure (CONHESS) starting from this month of 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 is not playing.  The governor understands what it means to enter into a social contract with his people.

“We have confidence in him. We feel happy that in no distant time, our financial situation as Enugu workers will be improved in Enugu State,” he said.