The Rivers State government on Monday sealed off the secretariat of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over tussle about the new minimum wage.
Officials of the state government and security operatives stormed the secretariat of NLC and reportedly forced out the workers there before sealing off the premises, which incidentally was built by the administration of Governor Nyesom Wike.
The state chapter of NLC, led by Beatrice Itubo, last weekend rejected the minimum wage offer by the state government, which was scheduled to commence last month.
Labour had threatened action if the state government did not sit down with its officials and negotiate what workers in the state should accept as minimum wage, a development that led the state government to dare NLC to act.
Labour leaders in the state said they would no longer tolerate intimidation and neglect of the workers, noting that the state government, rather than consult with them, unilaterally took the decision on minimum wage alone.
They also demanded the payment of arrears, release of pending promotions and payment of financial benefits.
But the state government had denied sealing off the premises.
It stated that the office of Bureau for Special Projects said the NLC structure which it completed and commissioned was subject of general inspections and structural integrity evaluation.
The Special Adviser, Special Projects and Head Bureau for Special Projects to the governor, D. WA George-Kelly, in a statement said: “It is this activity that precedes the release of the 5% retention fees due to any contractor 6 months or 1 year upon practical completion of the project. This is not new to every contractor or client in the construction industry.
“It is uncharitable and ungrateful for anyone under the aegis of the NLC to misconstrue this exercise for a product of an imagined imbroglio between labour and government. This is sad! The land was not revoked by the government; the building was not seized by the government.
“The Bureau is only carrying out its routine duty in ensuring that all infrastructure it provides are habitable and safe for use by our people and it’s our practice to seal off buildings when such exercises are being carried out.”
