Cross River workers begin 2-day warning strike over minimum wage
An appeal by Governor Bassey Otu to civil servants in Cross River to shelve their planned strike action has fallen on deaf ears as workers, Monday, began a 2-day warning strike over non-implementation of the N70, 000 minimum wage in the state.
Governor Otu had, last week, through his deputy, Rt Hon Peter Odey, appealed to workers not to embark on the said strike.
“Governor Otu prioritises the welfare of the workforce. In light of this, I appeal to the leadership of organized labor, along with all affiliates of the NLC and TUC, to suspend their planned state-wide strike. I enjoin them to support the Governor in his quest to improve the lot of our people,” he said.
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Odey insisted that Governor Otu was committed to improving conditions for both serving and retired workers, and enumerated such conditions to include clearing backlog of gratuities, regularising pension payments, and implementing overdue worker promotions, adding that Cross River State was committed to paying even above the recommended N70,000 new national minimum wage.
This did not go down with the organised labour, which wasted no time in shutting down all government establishments, schools and offices.
The labour leaders said the general congress had extensively deliberated on the issue and resolved to proceed with the warning strike because, according to him, government was not forthcoming with how to implement the new minimum wage in the state.
Impact of the Strike
As a result of this industrial action, government establishments, schools, and offices across Cross River State were shut down on November 25. Workers chose not to report for duty during this period as a demonstration of their discontent with the government’s handling of wage issues.
The unions have indicated that if their demands are not met by December 1, they will escalate their actions into a full-scale strike. This potential escalation underscores ongoing tensions between civil servants and state authorities regarding labor rights and fair compensation.
