Minimum wage: Akwa Ibom directs firms to comply

AKWA Ibom government has directed all companies operating in the state to commence immediate payment of N18, 000 minimum wage.Governor Godswill Akpabio disclosed this on Sunday, in Uyo, while speaking at the 2011 May Day celebration and thanksgiving service organised by Akwa Ibom chapter of the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC).Akpabio said all companies in the state must implement the N18, 000 minimum wage immediately.He assured workers in the state employ that the N18, 000 minimum wage, being implemented with effect from April 2011, will reflect in their May salaries.Akpabio said workers are the heart, the soul and the life blood of the state, adding that his administration would remain labour-friendly.I want to bring happiness continually to the workers of Akwa Ibom. As we enter my second term in office, I promise Labour that the aluta continua will perish in your lexicon because there will be nothing for you to struggle for again, Akpabio promised.He said the implementation of the minimum wage policy would not stop the payment of the yearly Christmas allowance.The governor noted that one of the greatest problems of the state was unemployment.He promised to create the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and create jobs for the citizens.In his goodwill message, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Anietie Etuk, said the Labour in the state had contributed to the rapid economic and social development of the state.Etuk said the legislature would continue to enact laws to enhance development in the state.The state secretary of TUC, Comrade Akamba Awak, urged the government to revamp ailing industries to create jobs for the people.Awak also called for the rehabilitation of the abandoned Technical College at Ikot Ada Idem in Ibiono Ibom local government area.The state chairman of NLC, Comrade Unyime Usoro, commended the government for its decision to pay the N18, 000 minimum wage and arrears of gratuities to retired primary school teachers.Usoro called for investment in job creation to reduce unemployment in line with the May Day celebration themeGrowing the National Economy for Job Creation and People welfare.He called for immediate recruitment of more teachers to meet with the upsurge in school enrolment occasioned by the free education policy of the government. 
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