Obaseki approves N40,000 minimum wage for Edo workers

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Sunday announced N40,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the state.

The governor, who disclosed this in his address at the 2022 Workers’ Day celebration in Benin, said his government would continue to prioritise the welfare of workers by providing them with the capacity and environment to thrive.

He said: “As we all know, the minimum wage of N30,000 can barely sustain a family. It will be immoral and mindless of us to continue to pretend that we do not know that our workers are suffering.

“The government of Edo has now decided to review the minimum wage for Edo workers from N30,000 to N40,000 a month. Undoubtedly, Edo is the first state since the current outbreak of COVID-19 to take this initiative.

“Even though we would have loved to pay more, we hope that this little adjustment would enable us to cushion the impact of the inflation that we are faced with. There is no doubt that the financial implications will be heavy and put another burden on the government.

“But as a government, we are prepared to make the sacrifices so that the workers can live a better life. Your welfare is our number one priority.”

Obaseki, who expressed the government’s unwavering support for the elderly in the state, decried the hardship faced by pensioners and other older citizens due to rising prices of food and other items.

“I am particularly interested in our senior citizens because they are one of the most vulnerable in our society. We took interest in payments of outstanding pensions to our pensioners although these pensions were held by the previous administration.

“In view of the prevailing economic circumstances, I have now approved, effective this May, the agreement we reached with the Union of Pensioners that the harmonized amount would be paid from May 2022.

“The government is aware of the difficulties faced by the pensioners due to the non-payment of pension and gratuities to pensioners by previous governments. This responsibility is huge, and it will require a substantial part of our resources to settle them.

“However, we are not a government that is known for running away from challenges; we will look for a way to tackle these challenges,” the governor added.