Minimum Wage: FG, Labour Tackle State Governors
The Federal Government and organised labour yesterday rejected the N22,500 minimum wage proposal put forward by the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF.
While the Federal Government insisted on paying N24,000, Labour threatened to go back to its initial demand of N66,500, even as Labour Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige accused state governors of not doing enough on the issue.
In reaction, the joint Central Working Committee, CWC, comprising all presidents and general secretaries of labour centres of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the Trade Union Congress, TUC and the United Labour Congress, ULC, have scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday in Lagos.
It was gathered at press time Wednesday that the Federal Government may be planning to use a court injunction to stop the nationwide strike scheduled to start on Tuesday, November 6.
This is just as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has planned to meet with the aggrieved labour leaders in a bid to find an amicable resolution of the minimum wage brouhaha. Briefing journalists in Abuja to make known their rejection of the NGF offer, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Ayuba Wabba, said the initial N30,000 which he said was a product of compromise from the Tripartite Negotiation Committee meeting will no longer stand as organized labour has gone back to its initial demand.
He explained that 21 of 36 states at the commencement of the negotiation, sent memoranda and even quoted different figures as the minimum wage they could pay, describing the N22,500 by the Nigeria’s Governors Forum, NGF, as a mere pronouncement that won’t stand.
Wabba said: “Our attention has been drawn to a communiqué issued by the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, after its meeting on October 30, 2018, claiming that state governors can only pay N22,500 as new National Minimum Wage.
“First, we wish to state that the Nigeria Governors Forum is not a negotiating body but merely a political organization for the convenience of state governors.
“The tripartite committee from inception sent letters to each state government to send in their memoranda as their contributions to the new national minimum wage negotiating process. 21 states sent in their memoranda, quoting figures.
“Second, the demand of organized labour is not N30,000, our demand is N66,500. N30,000 is the compromise figure we arrived at, at the end of negotiations by the tripartite partners, including government, employers and Organized Labour.
“The new minimum wage was a product of intense negotiations that lasted almost one year. The governors had six representatives on the Tripartite Committee – one state governor represented each of the geo-political zones.
“The representatives of the state governors were part of the work of the negotiating committee from beginning to the end.
“It is important to note that the National Minimum Wage is not an allocation to workers. It is a product of negotiation by the tripartite partners. The unilateral pronouncement by governors of N22,500 minimum wage is an abuse of every known principle of industrial relations, labour laws, processes and international best practices. “Third, the NGF erroneously stated that the population of salaried workers is 5% of the general population in Nigeria.
This 5% represents the nation’s workforce, including teachers, health workers, police personnel, military men and women, engineers, drivers and other workers labouring for the development of our country.
“In Finland, with far less population than Nigeria, every classroom is taught by four teachers. That is a country that understands the critical place of human capital to development. Of what benefit are roads, rails and bridges without human beings to run them?
“Fourth, we are also very concerned about the huge pressure being brought upon Organized Private Sector, OPS, to compromise its stand on the N30,000 compromise new National Minimum Wage.
“This pressure by the enemies of the Nigerian people was what led to the recent statement by NACCIMA that sought to cast aspersion on an already negotiated new National Minimum Wage.
“We believe that the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA, a reputable body that represents organized labour, will present the facts as they are.
“We, therefore, condemn unequivocally the communique issued by the Nigeria Governors Forum on October 30, 2018, as an attempt to undermine the authority of Mr. President. This position should be equally condemned by all.
“Our demand is that the constitutional, legal and morally right step to take at this point is for the chairman of the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Negotiating Committee to submit the report of the already concluded National Minimum Wage negotiations to Mr. President for transmission to the National Assembly for consideration and passage into law.”
He said the National Executive Council in its meeting of October 23, 2018, had adopted N30,000, stressing that “any figure below N30,000 will not be accepted by us.
‘’We call on our members to continue to mobilize in preparation for the commencement of an indefinite strike on November 6, 2018, if by then necessary steps were not taken to adopt the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee.”
The NLC boss foreclosed further negotiations on minimum wage with the Negotiation Committee, saying every negotiation had been concluded. Wabba said already, proceedings of their meeting had been sent to President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that organized labour remains open to discuss with the President whenever he deemed it necessary to invite them.
