The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC has warned Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state that there will be consequences if he doesn’t stop the deduction of workers salary. 

NLC made the call on Friday. NLC chairman in the state Kabiru Ado told newsmen at the NLC Secretariat in Kano, that the workers would resist any plan to further deduct their salaries. 

“Attention of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the leadership of Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) has been drawn to a malicious and ill-motivated grapevine publication circulating that the state government is set on reversing the payment of the current minimum wage of N30,600 to the old wage of N18,000.“Other states such as Borno, Katsina, Lagos, among others, who had issues with COVID-19 and security challenges did not reduce workers salary.“It is now more than before that the state government needs to support workers and their families to scale through the hard times,” he said. 

Mr Ado said that due to the salary deduction suffered by workers and pensioners in November and December 2020, the congress had been compelled to take appropriate action on the matter. He said that NLC was not ready to accept any further unilateral deductions of the legitimate earnings of any worker or pensioner, and that the state government should immediately refund the deducted amounts for the months of November and December 2020.

 “If there is further deduction, severance or foul play on salary, under whatever excuse, the labour congress would be left with no other alternative than to take appropriate industrial action to seek redress,” he said. Mr Ado urged the state government to further desist from taking any measures that will damage its established reputation of being prompt in the payment of salaries over the years. 

The chairman commended the workers and pensioners for their support and understanding in these trying times and enjoined them to remain alert and await further directives from the leadership of the NLC in the state.