Members of organised labour in Bayelsa State have joined their counterparts nationwide to protest against a bill at the National Assembly seeking to remove the powers of minimum wage payment from the exclusive legislative list to concurrent.
Led in the protest by leaders of their parent bodies, the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, the workers marched to the Bayelsa State House of Assembly where they urged the legislators to shun any move tilting towards that direction.
State Chairman of the Bayelsa State Chapter of the NLC, Bipre Ndiomu, speaking shortly after a protest march to the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, said the planned move to take off payment of minimum wage from the Exclusive Legislative would further impoverish workers who are already facing severe hardship.
According to him, the retention of the minimum wage on the Exclusive List was critical to the survival of the Niger workers.
Chairman of the Bayelsa State House Committee on Labour, Ebiwou Koku-Obiyai, who received the demands of the workers on behalf of the Speaker, assured that the legislators do the right thing whenever the issue is presented before the House.
Organised labour unions in the country have vowed to take strong measures to ensure the legislation to remove minimum wage from the Exclusive Legislative List does not see the light of day.
