The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has frowned over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage and the consequential adjustments by some state governors.

NLC president Joe Ajaero said this at the sixth National Gender Conference organised by the NLC National Women Commission on Tuesday in Abuja.

The conference had the theme,” Accelerate Action for Gender Equality: Imperative for a new NLC Gender Policy.”

Mr Ajaero said the salaries of some workers were currently below the amount they were receiving before the new minimum wage of N70,000 was implemented as a result of taxes, electricity tariffs, high school fees and inflation.

“If you want to be a serious worker and go to work for 24 days or 20 days a month, the N70,000 will disappear; that’s a fact today.

“The issue of implementing a minimum wage is the worst crime I have ever seen.

“In some states, you just notice N5,000 on top of your salary. So, what is the essence of consequential adjustment?

“At the NLC level, we have negotiated for N70,000. At the level of consequential adjustment, the NLC was not contacted.

“So I wonder why workers should be short-changed; I do not understand,” he said.

He added that workers in the Federal Civil Service were yet to take their complaints on the short change of salary payments to the leadership of the NLC.

“So many people are lamenting in their closets about how they implemented the minimum wage,” he said.

Salamatu Aliu, chairperson of NLC’s Women’s Commission, said women in Nigeria and indeed around the world were still being subjected to discrimination, abuse, and harassment in their places of work and society.

Ms Aliu, represented by Deborah Yusuf, deputy chairperson in the commission, said that women were being relegated to lower-status and lower-paid jobs and under-represented in leadership and decision-making processes and bodies.

“Currently, the NLC is in the process of updating and finalising the review of the Gender Policy, in line with current gender trends,” she said.

Vanessa Phala, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Director in Nigeria, said the organisation was committed to promoting the rights of workers in the world of work and to achieving gender equality.

(NAN)