Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has urged workers to pray for financial windfall to enable his administration implement the new national wage.

Ugwuanyi made the call on Wednesday in Enugu during the 2019 May Day celebration held in the state.

The governor said that his administration was committed to the welfare of workers and had prioritised payment of salary and pension.

He said that his administration would do everything to ensure continuous harmonious working relationship between government and workers.

Ugwuanyi said that he had noted the new national minimum wage approved by President Muhammadu Buhari effective from April 2019.

“We will ensure that these issues are comprehensively and satisfactorily addressed in concert with other relevant government agencies and departments,” he said.

Ugwuanyi therefore charged workers in the state to pray for financial breakthrough while remaining true to their obligations.

Earlier in an address, the Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state, Mr Chukwuma Igbokwe, said that the good relationship between government and workers had translated to improved workers’ welfare.

Igbokwe commended the state government for setting aside N100 million monthly for the payment of backlog of gratuities.

He noted that the latest release would pay up to September 2010 gratuities.

The chairman, however, said that it had become imperative to increase the money to N200 million as there were a lot of outstanding gratuities.

Igbokwe also said that pensioners in government parastatals were owed up to 32 months.

He appealed to the state government to centralise the system of salary payment to enable workers in government parastatals get salaries same time with their peers in the ministries.

Also speaking, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Virginus Nwobodo, said that the governor had within his first tenure given workers hope.

Nwobodo said that the state government had paid over six years of gratuities in batches.

He therefore appealed for increase of the monthly release to N300 million to enable prompt payment.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the celebration was march-past by the various trade unions. (