Imo State judicial workers will now receive N28,000 minimum wage monthly.

Briefing Government House newsmen on the agreement jointly worked out by the state government and Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), the Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Peace and Conflict Resolution, Chief Peter Ohagwa, said the new salary would take effect from April 1, 2012.

Prior to this, the Judicial Staff Union of Imo State were yet to have the new minimum wage reflected on their salaries and emolument as their counterpart in the civil service.

Chief Ohagwa further disclosed that the joint agreement also resolved to maintain the different harmonised salary table structure of the judiciary, different from that of other public servants and to respect same advantage in future salary review.

It was also resolved that there should be no further industrial action on the new minimum wage salary issue.

Similarly, no member of JUSUN shall be victimised on same account, he said.

The State Chairman, Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Richard Anyadike, expressed happiness over the peaceful resolution after long negotiations.

He said both the state government and JUSUN were cognizant of the agreement, urging judicial workers to relax their minds and do their job with diligence, assuring that the parties would keep to faith.

Comrade Anyadike recalled that federal government approved new minimum wage of N18,000 in 2010 and the Imo State government under Owelle Rochas Okorocha adopted N20,000 for the lowest paid civil servant in the state in 2011.

•Photo: Governor Okorocha.