The Kano State government has said it will not be paying N30,000 minimum wage for March because of the shortfalls in the state’s finances.
Describing the situation as temporary, the Kano government insisted it would be difficult to implement the consolidated minimum wage.
Commissioner for Information in the state, Malam Muhammad Garba, in a statement, explained that the drop in federal allocation for the period under review has made it difficult for the government to implement the new salary package.
Malam Garba said for March, the state government received a total allocation of N12, 400, 000, 000 billion from the federation account, out of which the state collected N6, 100, 000, 000, 000 billion, while the 44 local governments collected the sum of N6, 300, 000, 000 billion.
The commissioner said for the state government to pay the consolidated wages to its workers, it needs additional billions of naira which is currently not available.
He pointed out that at its meeting with the labour union in May 2020, there was an understanding that government would pay workers’ salaries based on a percentage of the total disbursement received.
Malam Garba recalled that in November and December 2020, a similar necessary but temporary measure was adopted in the payment of workers’ salary as a result of the shortage to keep the government going which was, however, reversed in January and February, after the situation improved.
The commissioner further recalled that Kano was the first among the few states in the federation to agree to the implementation of the minimum wage without any hesitation which should have been put into consideration by the organized labor.
He noted that given the situation, the organized labor ought to reason with the government before embarking on strike, which he said will not in any way solve the problem.
Malam Garba passionately called for the support and cooperation of the labor union and the entire workforce in the state to maintain a good working relationship with the government in the interest of industrial harmony.
He further assured workers in the state that they would continue to receive the new package as soon as the situation improves.
