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Tag: labour

  • Labour hails Oyetola, Kyari, Mustapha

    The Joint Labour Unions in Osun State have congratulated Governor Gboyega Oyetola on his victory at the Supreme Court over last year’s gubernatorial election in the state.

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), its Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart and the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) in a joint statement in Osogbo, the state capital, felicitated with the governor.

    The statement, jointly signed by the state Chairman of NLC, Comrade Adekomi Jacob Tunde; his counterpart in the TUC, Comrade Adekola Adebowale and the JNC Chairman, Comrade Bayo Adejumo said: “We heartily congratulate the Executive Governor of the state, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola on his deserved victory at the Supreme Court.

    “It is our belief that this victory will spur you to be more focused and undistracted on the assignment of taking the state to greater heights.

    “The unions felicitate with you and pray that God Almighty will help you as you prepare to make life more bearable and pleasant for the teeming workers in the state. Once again, we congratulate you.”

    In a related event, the NLC, on behalf of its National Executive Council (NEC), commended President Muhammadu Buhari for reappointing Mr. Boss Mustapha and Malam Abba Kyari as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chief of Staff to the President respectively.

    NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said the union had over the past four years enjoyed very good working relationships with Alhaji Kyari and Mr. Mustapha, which have contributed immensely to fast-tracking resolutions of critical labour issues in the country.

    He said: “We have no doubt that the country has benefited and will benefit more from their commitment to the success of the present government and the progress of the entire country.”

    Wabba added that the union enjoyed a robust relationship with Mr. Kyari’s at critical moments during the negotiations of the new National Minimum Wage, “which dispelled various misinformation sent to the President by some individuals involved in the negotiations”.

    The NLC further urged  President Buhari to maintain the trust and patriotic purpose of Alhaji Kyari’s and Boss Mustapha’s presence in his administration.

  • Labour: 148 textile mills close shop

    Of the over 175 textile factories that existed in Nigeria in the late 80s, no fewer than 148 have closed down, leaving the sector with less than 27, the President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, has said.

    Speaking with The Nation over the weekend, Wabba recalled that the textile industry was once the highest provider of jobs, second only to the public sector. He, however, regretted that the story has become a tale of tears.

    He said: “From more than 175 textile factories in the late 80s, we can only boast of less than 27 surviving ones. The greatest social tragedy is the mass retrenchment of hundreds of thousands of workers and the attendant suffering that their families are exposed to.

    “We cannot allow this sad state of affairs to continue indefinitely. We demand the recovery of the cotton value chain.”

    Wabba said the government should urgently revisit the textile revitalisation  fund. According to him, the administration of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Musa Yar’Adua secured N100 billion intervention fund to revive the textile sector.

    “We need to know what was responsible for the less than successful impact of this big fund invested to revitalise the sector and what needs to be done to avoid the pitfalls from that experience.

    “Nigeria with almost 200 million people is a massive market for textile materials, and it is sad that we presently produce far less than 25 per cent of our peoples’ clothing needs.

    “The infrastructural and other challenges that have continued to hinder the growth and development of the textile sector needed to be addressed head on by the various governments of the federation,” Wabba said.

    He advised the Federal Government to make it a policy that the Armed Forces,  the Police, Customs, Immigration, Civil Defence, Road Safety Corps and all uniformed services personnel are kitted with locally produced textile and footwear.

    “Also, appropriate directives should be given that the uniforms of all school children in Nigeria should be made from textile produced by local industries. This same gesture should be extended to all locally manufactured goods in order to guarantee markets for them,” Wabba  added.

  • Labour urges governors to pay pension arrears

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on state governments owing pensioners to pay them as soon as possible to reduce their hardship.

    Its National President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, made the call in Kano during NLC state delegates’ conference.

    Wabba, represented by his deputy, Alhaji Nasiru Dangwandu, said the call was necessary because some state governors had failed to pay retirees their entitlements.

    Lauding President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent to the new minimum wage bill 2019, tWabba said it would be a testimony to good governance if governors ensured payment of such arrears to beneficiaries.

    According to Wabba, NLC is committed to improving the welfare of workers.

    He pledged that NLC would double its efforts toward achieving the objective.

    He said: “But we completely rejected the proposed increase of Value Added Tax as a means of funding the 2019 budget.

    “We warned that any increase in the VAT or PAYE would not only rob workers of the minimal relief from the increase in the minimum wage, but would also leave our economy in dire straits.”

    Wabba urged the government to consider progressive ways of financing the budget and to adopt progressive taxation to capture more people in the tax net, in addition to ensuring that luxury items are properly taxed.

    He urged employers to begin the payment of the new minimum wage immediately.

    The state chairman of the NLC in Kano, Comrade Kabir Minjibir, said the union had recorded tremendous success in its effort to ensure welfare and rights of workers.

     

     

  • Why labour, OPS won’t embrace tax increase

    The National Assembly has just passed the Bill to increase the National Minimum Wage from N18, 000 to N30, 000. The Federal Government is believed to be planning to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) to enable it pay. Though the nation’s tax chief may have denied any such plans, labour and members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) keep warning against it. They are also cautioning that any tax increase will erode the gains of the new wage regime, particularly for the low income workers, TOBA AGBOOLA reports.

    The Federal Government and organised labour appear to be on a collision course. If and when implemented, the government’s proposed plan to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) to enable it pay the new N30, 000 National Minimum Wage approved by the National Assembly, will likely pit it against labour and members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

    To the labour movement, the OPS and indeed, other Nigerians opposed to the proposed plan, the VAT upward review or any form of tax to fund the new wage regime will have far reaching effects on workers, manufacturers, businesses and consumers alike.

    The Federal Government may have inadvertently set the stage for another round of confrontation with organised labour and civil society when it muted the idea of increasing the VAT rate to accommodate the new N30, 000 minimum wage.

    The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, made the intention known to Nigerians when they appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance, recently.

    Fowler said, for instance, the proposed payable VAT by Nigerians based on the increment from the current five per cent would actually be between 35 per cent (6.75 per cent) and 50 per cent (7.25 per cent).

    His words: “By the end of this year, we should be ready for an increase in VAT ….. I can certainly see an increase in VAT of at least 35 per cent to 50 per cent this year based on our enforcement activities.”

    The tax chief even sought to justify the proposed increment. His words: “A lot of Nigerians travel to Ghana and other West African countries and they can see that theirs is much higher. They pay when they go for those trips. We should be ready for an increase in VAT.”

    He also said there would be an increase in Company Income Tax and also on Petroleum Profit Tax. He said the agency had increased VAT collection by 25 per cent in the last three years, but lamented that many of the firms that are collecting VAT are not remitting it.

    However, Fowler has since distanced himself from the comments purporting to have conveyed government’s plans to increase VAT and other taxes. That was when labour, the OPS and other concerned Nigerians, vehemently opposed to an upward review of tax, turned the heat on him.

    Despite the denial, labour and the OPS wasted no time in asking the Federal Government to pull the brakes on any proposed plan to increase taxes. They even called on the government to exempt the new minimum wage from taxation.

     

    NECA, NLC, LCCI, others disagree

    The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) did not mince words when it said the review of VAT or any form of tax as being proposed was capable of eroding the gains of the new minimum wage for low income earners and further weaken their purchasing power, among other unsavoury consequences.

    NECA’s Director-General, Mr. Timothy Olawale, said the planned increase of taxes would have far-reaching implications for manufacturers, businesses and consumers alike.

    “Manufacturers and businesses are already saddled with several challenges, such as infrastructural decay, power, among others. Some companies are closing shops due to some of these challenges while others are still struggling to stay afloat,” he pointed out.

    Olawale added that the proposed VAT increase would definitely lead to an increase in the cost of doing business, and would likely be passed to the consumers whose purchasing power is already weak.

    As far as Olawale is concerned, increase in VAT is not desirable at this time. “Government does not have to increase VAT or any tax in order to enable it pay minimum wage,” he said.

    He, however, said in the event that government must increase VAT against the will of the people, “it should be limited to luxury or ostentatious goods only”.

    Olawale faulted the comparison of VAT rates with other countries as being irrelevant due to the fact that business operating conditions in those climes are more clement than what obtains in Nigeria.

    As a way out, the NECA boss recommended that there should be more individual and corporate entities captured in the tax net paying VAT.

    He also advocated that the government should reduce its recurrent expenditure, cost of governance, widen the tax net in its bid to generate more revenue and ensure effective collection of taxes from non-compliant citizens or defaulters.

    He urged that government should not burden businesses with taxes, rather it should create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and continue to contribute to the growth of the nation.

    NECA, which is the umbrella body for the OPS and the voice of business in Nigeria, also urged the government not to burden businesses with taxes, but create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and continue to contribute to the growth of the nation.

    Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Director-General, Mr. Muda Yusuf, aligned with Olawale. He said the plan would not be good for business, as investors are operating in a very difficult environment with high cost of production. “This is coupled with the fact that consumers’ purchasing power has further been worsened,” Yusuf added.

    He further pointed out that the unfortunate thing about VAT in Nigeria is that it goes on all services right from the ports where the raw materials come in to all the processing levels, unlike in other economies where VAT is on the final production.

    The LCCI boss stated that the way tax is operated in Nigeria is different from the way it is operated in other countries, adding that it is not favourable to the average man on the street.

    Yusuf added that taxation is about creating an environment that allows the rich to support the poor, noting that this same principle could be extended to micro enterprises in the economy.

    “Such category of business owners should also enjoy tax exemption,” he said, arguing that a minimum wage of N30, 000 is not too much to be paid to the lowest worker of an organisation, whether in the public or private sector, taking into account the cost of living  in the country.

    Yusuf explained: “Let us take a scenario of a family man that has to pay school fees for his children, provide feeding for the family, pay for health care, pay for transportation, pay house rent and possibly even support some dependants.

    “A monthly income of N30, 000 certainly cannot cover these basic responsibilities. It is therefore, even worse when we talk about N18, 000, minimum wage.”

    He, however, said the challenge with many of the states is that they have a workforce that is very unwieldy and not sustainable. “There is also the problem of too many political appointees on the payroll of many of the state governments,’’ Yusuf said.

    National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) General Secretary, Comrade Issa Aremu, said there is a twin assault on the real income of Nigerian workers caused by unrestrained devaluation of the naira and the high rate of inflation.

    Aremu told The Nation that it was important to put pressure on the FIRS to raise the tax bar in such a way that the N30, 000 minimum wage would fall below taxable income. He also made case for tax holidays for some categories of Nigerian workers.

    The labour leader said: “Now that we have raised the minimum wage to N30, 000, we must impress it on the FIRS to raise the tax bar so that the new minimum wage will be protected. If you tax the N30, 000 minimum wage, we may as well go back to renegotiation.”

    Aremu insisted that labour must push the agenda to protect the new minimum wage, a point which he said was earlier raised by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Sulaiman Lasun.

    “The N30,000 is actually a compromised amount from the N56, 000 earlier proposed, so it must be protected. If the Federal Government can give 10-year tax holiday to companies, why not give the same to workers? Given the collapse of income, today, Nigerian workers deserve tax holidays,” Aremu said.

    According to him, workers are not asking for this because they consider their job as charitable. “What workers have in their pocket is what will turn the economy around. That is what we will use to purchase goods in the market and pay rent,” he clarified.

    The labour unionist also pointed out that for the economy to recover, it is good for workers to have sustainable purchasing power or disposable income that is off the tax hook.

    His counterpart at NLC, Peter Ozo-Eson, agreed with him. He said the income tax law needed to be amended to protect workers’ purchasing power.

    “Given that the N30, 000 labour agreed as a compromised minimum wage is so low, ideally, it should not be taxed. But I believe that the correct way to do it is to amend the income tax law in order to raise the exemption bar if the N30, 000 will fall within.

    “The law should be amended to ensure that the minimum wage level is below the taxable income. Under the present law, if you earn N18, 000 a month, your tax is zero. There is a tax table, but with N30, 000, under the existing exemption guideline, there will be some little tax because it will be slightly above the exemption tax.

    “What needs to be done is to have an adjustment to the schedule so that the exemption is placed above the minimum wage,” he said.

    It is easy to see why labour is spoiling for war over the proposed tax increase. For one, labour believes that the value of the N30, 000 new minimum wage, for which it literarily fought the government to a standstill, may be badly hit when subjected to the monthly deduction tax of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) expected from all workers.

    Such fear and the subsequent agitation for exemption are not without basis. Recall that in 2011 when the current wage of N18, 000 was approved as the National Minimum Wage, workers in that earning bracket were exempted from paying tax, as the deduction would have further reduced the wage beneath N18, 000.

    For instance, comparing the contentious N30, 000, which is an equivalent of $83 with the 11 dollar minimum wage in America, shows that at least, a paid worker in America will earn in a day what a Nigerian worker is struggling to earn in a month.

    In the same analysis, a worker in Indonesia earns $100 as minimum wage. But unlike Nigeria, where the social safety net is not working, in Indonesia, the worker’s salary is not expended on health, education, while, gas, transport are heavily subsidised and food is very cheap and affordable.

    But the opposite is the case in Nigeria. And this was why organised labour called for tax exemption on the proposed new wage in order not to put further pressure on it and thereby make the wage increase irrelevant.

    Indeed, Nigerian workers, by their present earning, are presently considered among the poorest in the world. NLC President Ayuba Wabba said with the falling value of the naira, workers were forced to insist that the minimum wage must be upwardly reviewed. “When we signed the 18, 000 minimum wage, it was equivalent to $150; today, 18, 000 is less than $50,” he said.

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) also noted that Nigeria has become the poorest country in the world. It regretted that Nigerian workers are the least paid in Africa, despite enormous petroleum resources that have allegedly continued to be siphoned into private pockets by the political elite.

    “For instance, Nigeria National Minimum Wage stands at $50 per month, while that of Libya is $325; Algeria, $155; Chad, $110; Morocco, $310; South Africa, $232; Seychelles $304, etc,” the union said.

    The obvious pay disparity between Nigerian workers and their counterparts in other countries was not lost on the National Assembly though. This was why House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara while passing the bill at the lower chamber said N30, 000 as national minimum wage was not enough to sustain Nigerian families.

    He said a living wage was aptly appropriate for Nigerian workers rather than a national minimum wage because of the country’s harsh economic reality, noting that there were obvious reasons why the House had to give accelerated consideration to the “very crucial bill”.

    “It is a bill that is long overdue, as the current National Minimum Wage, which was fixed in 2011, has become unrealistic due to supervening developments in the nation,” Dogara said, noting that since underemployment and unemployment were poverty strange bedfellows, eliminating them must be the focal point of government’s policies.

    The N30, 000 monthly National Minimum Wage, which has now become a subject of fresh controversy over plans to hike taxes to enable government pay, was recommended by the Tripartite Committee after extensive consultations and deliberations including touring of the six geo-political zones of the country before it arrived at.

    This must have been why Financial Derivatives Limited Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Bismark Rewane, said the comments by the duo of Udoma and Fowler remained their opinions.

    He said not until a white paper on the N30, 000 minimum wage is available, all submissions on the workable framework towards the implementation of the minimum wage still remains in the realm of speculations.

    Rewane, however, pointed out that Nigeria’s tax to GDP ratio was very low, adding that for now, he does not know which tax the country would be more efficient in collecting. The economist admitted that discussions around Nigeria’s tax system must be looked at closely.

    On his part, the Head of Tax and Corporate Advisory Services at PwC Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, lamented that governments sometimes have a lazy approach to tackling problems without caring to know the impact on the citizenry.

    Oyedele said increasing VAT or any other tax to enable government pay the N30, 000 minimum wage in the face of unemployment, fragile economic growth and low purchasing power would be counter-productive.

    He maintained that if government is compelled to increase the minimum wage, then it should be looking at ways of improving efficiency and productivity.

    The tax expert warned that increasing VAT could lead to a decline in collection rate because majority of the people that are meant to be paying the current VAT rate are not even paying, adding that a further hike will discourage them further.

    ‘‘We currently have a five per cent VAT rate that majority of the people that are supposed to be paying are not paying. When you now increase it, you would have succeeded in making the business environment less competitive for the people doing the right thing.

    “The people, who are doing the wrong thing by not paying, even have more incentives not to   pay. This, overall, is not even good for the economy,” Oyedele said.

    On how to arrive at a sustainable model of paying the minimum wage, Oyedele advocated the streamlining of job roles and a performance measurement framework across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) appraisal model that would help shrink job roles.

    But according to the CEO, Highcap Securities, David Adonri, the proposed increase in VAT if implemented in the capital market will increase the cost of transactions on the domestic bourse and this will be a dis-incentive to Nigerians investing in the capital market.

    Will government heed the experts’ wise counsel? Will the agitation by labour, OPS and civil society force down the hand of the government and halt the proposed tax increase?

    These questions are necessary in view of the argument by the Secretary-General of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, that the government could pay workers the agreed N30, 000 minimum wage without looking for funds.

    According to Lawal, ‘’The government generates huge funds from the Customs, Stamp duty payment, VAT, Treasury Single Account and many other sources. The FIRS said it recorded N5.4 trillion in 2018 and is targeting about N8 trillion in 2019. These are revenue sources which can enable the government pay the minimum wage.”

    Lawal said it was sad that there were leakages through taxes, which was the traditional revenue source of government at all levels. He noted that the Federal Government can pay the minimum wage within the resources it has.

  • Labour picket Zimbabwean Embassy in Abuja

    …demand release of detained workers

     

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Friday picketed the Zimbabwean Embassy in Abuja, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of workers and labour leaders arrested while protesting the increase in the prices of fuel in that country.

    President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba who led the workers said if the Zimbabwean government refuse to release the Union leaders, workers across the world will be mobilised to shut down the Zimbabwean embassies across the world.

    Wabba who is also the president of the International Trade Union (ITUC ) asked the United Nations to invoke relevant international conventions to protect the right of workers in Zimbabwe.

    He said ITUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress will petition the International Court of Justice to protest the violation of human rights in that country and the violence that follow the peaceful protest by the workers.

    Wabba also asks the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the African Union to invoke relevant labour conventions in dealing with the issue in Zimbabwe, adding that it was an irony that the same government which the labour union fought for is the one hunting down labour leaders.

    He said organised labour in Nigeria will not hesitate to seal up the embassy in Abuja if the Zimbabwean government failed to adhere to their calls and release the detained labour leaders in that country.

    Wabba called on the Zimbabwean Government to release detained leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and 39 others arrested for participating in protest march over fuel price increase.

    Wabba said that the NLC has followed with a sense of outrage the ugly incidents that have trailed the mass protests in Zimbabwe, adding that that the protest was occasioned by the sudden increase in pump prices of petroleum products by the government of Zimbabwe.

    He said: “the protest is against what many Zimbabweans perceive as insensitive policy choices by the government of Zimbabwe. The Nigerian working class family is sad that what should have passed as a civil action in democratic climes was met with disproportionate use of force by the Zimbabwean military and security forces.

    “The brazen show of force culminated into widespread suppression and violation of the fundamental human rights of ordinary Zimbabweans, who were exposed to an orgy of violence, bloodshed and acts of state cruelty.

    “The NLC is particularly concerned about allegations of home raids, killings, rapes, robbery and physical assaults against workers, women, children and civilians generally, during the so-called crackdown of protests by the Zimbabwean security forces.’’

    Read Also: Labour banks on Rewane Committee

    He reminded the Zimbabwean Government that the action of the security forces was in violation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 87 on the Right to Unionise and Organise, saying ” the Nigeria Labour Congress reiterates its firm support for democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights cum dignity everywhere and at all times.

    “We, therefore, extend our strong solidarity to the workers and people of Zimbabwe as they express their democratic rights to peaceful assembly and protest. We stand with you today, being Feb. 1, 2019 and always as we lead Nigerian workers and all lovers of democracy, freedom and civil liberties on a march to the Zimbabwean High Commission, Abuja.

    “This is a protest against the descent of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to a reign of cold-blooded dictatorship, brutality and tyranny, adding that “what was happening right now in Zimbabwe was out of tune with democratic tenets and certainly not in tandem with Mnangagwa’s promise of a new Zimbabwe.“

  • Labour, Yari, Ngige differ on N27,000 minimum wage for states

    FRESH controversies broke out yesterday over the new Minimum Wage Bill, which has scaled Second Reading in both chambers of the National Assembly.

    Finance Minister Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Labour & Employment Minister Chris Ngige and Labour disagreed on the bill.

    The bickering was at the public hearing of the House of Representatives ad-Hoc Committee on new Minimum Wage, headed by the Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun.

    The Federal government will pay N30, 000 as the minimum wage to its workers, Dr. Ngige said at the hearing.

    According to him, the N27,000 minimum wage contained in the National Minimum Wage Act Amendment Bill as sent to the National Assembly, is for the states and the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

    The minister said the initial wage figure approved by the Federal Government was N27, 000, which was later reviewed upwards to N30, 000, when they met with the National Council of State (NCS).

    Ngige told the committee that the issue of a national minimum wage is a national matter, which the government is committed to.

    He said the government set up a tripartite committee, which comprised members of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and other groups that came up with the new wage.

    The minister added that the new wage figure is in tandem with international conventions on labour matters and there was a general consensus on the figure.

    Labour disagreed at this point, even though Ngige said the Federal Government has agreed to pay its own workers the N30,000 minimum wage.

    It insisted that the wage should be all-encompassing for federal and state workers.

    NLC President Ayuba Wabba did not disagree, but proposed four amendment to the bill.

    Read also: 27,000 minimum wage bill scales second reading

    “We have four amendments that we are proposing here. Amendment one is about the figure. In the current bill, Item 1(a) provides for a minimum wage of N27, 000; we want to say and plead that the figure should be made to be N30, 000,” he said.

    Even the Employers & Small and Medium Entrepreneur Associations also insisted on the recommendations of the tripartite committee for N30, 000.

    But, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman and Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari was embarrassed by the workers, who disrupted his address.

    The NGF chair told the gathering that because the revenue allocation formula had not been favourable to the state governors, they resisted the new wage bill initially.

    He insisted that for equity and fairness in revenue sharing among the three tiers of government to be enthroned, there is the need to review the revenue allocation formula.

    He incurred the wrath of the workers when he said the position of the National Council of State on the new wage bill, which recommended N27, 000, is acceptable to the governors.

    The Finance Minister told the lawmakers that the government has not factored the new wage bill into the 2019 Budget.

    It was a hall packed full of workers, with a palpable air of expectations and anticipation. Her statement seemed to dampen the enthusiasm of the labour members in the hall.

    She, however, said the government had paid salaries, allowances and pensions of federal civil servants up to a hundred per cent.

    According to her, the government had paid N2.6 trillion and N3.0 trillion generated same period.

    She cautioned of a revenue shortfall and added that the government is working to address it.

    Budget Office Director-General Ben Akabueze, who represented the Minister of Budget & National Planning, Udo Udoma, said though the Federal Government was able to pay, but some states are spending more than 70 per cent of revenues available to them on salary, that’s why the president took the step to constitute the tripartite committee to come up with a framework to ensure that the new wage is sustainable.

    The House Speaker Yakubu Dogara said the N30, 000 minimum wage being canvassed is not enough.

    According to him, it can barely feed a small family unit, adding that it is only when workers are dignified with wages that can provide them minimum comfort that their productivity level would increase.

    The ad-hoc committee said it has resolved to ensure that the new Minimum Wage Act 2019 is passed into law before the commencement of the 2019 general elections.

    Lasun explained why the House accelerated the process of passing the bill, adding that the review is long overdue.

    He said the N27, 000 has already been rejected by labour and the National Assembly is expected to do the needful.

     

  • Kogi: NLC seek release of N30.8bn balance Paris Refund

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Kogi State chapter, on Wednesday, appealed to the Federal Government to immediately release the balance of N30.8 billion of the N50.8 billion Paris Fund approved for the state.

    Addressing pressmen in Lokoja, the NLC state chair, Comrade Onuh Edoka, called for the urgent release of the balance of the N50.8 billion approved as bailout for workers in the public service of Kogi State.

    Edoka, who said that the issue of irregularities in salary payment has been the subject of running battle between organized labour and government in the state, therefore called on the President Mohammed Buhari-led administration to urgently release the said balance, and stave off further hardships of the workers.

    Responding to a question, he said that organized labour were unable evaluate the performance level of the first tranche of N20 billion Paris Fund release to the government, because it was not involved in the negotiations, adding that some of the workers at the state level were paid four months’ salary arrears, and three months at LG level, from the first instalment.

    According to him: “It would be recalled that at the twilight of the administration of Capt. Idris Wada, the immediate past governor of Kogi State, the state government applied and got approval of N50.8 billion to settle arrears of salaries owed to workers and pensioners at the state and local government levels, but was unable to access any of the funds before the end of that regime.

    “The present government of Alhaji Yahaya Bello was only able to access N20 billion of the fund, leaving the balance of N30.8 billion.
    The non-release of the fund has put the workers of Kogi State, most especially local government workers and primary school teachers at a very perilous state where they cannot meet their basic needs as human beings.

    “As at today, majority of state workers are down with five months salary arrears while those who got late clearance from the screening exercise have various months of backlog of arrears.

    “The worst case scenario is that of primary school teachers and local government workers who have continued to receive ridiculous percentages of their salaries. As it stands today, primary school teachers and local government workers are being owed salary arrears of well over 30 months by the time you calculate the percentages of their salaries not paid over the years.

    “Life has indeed become unbearable for these categories of workers as many could not afford the school fees of their children and other basic family needs.

    Read Also: CNPP appeals to NLC to accept new minimum wage

    “It is in the light of this that the organised labour in Kogi State passionately appeals to the Federal Government to release the sum of N30.8 billion being the balance of the approved N50.8 billion, to enable the state government settle the backlog of arrears owed to the teachers and local government workers.

    “The organised labour wish to also appeal to the state government to give necessary priority to salary payment because of the ripple effects it has on the economy of the state generally.

    “While the organised labour wish to note with delight the efforts the government is making in improving the state’s infrastructure like road, water and security across the state, it should be noted also that when salaries are not adequately and promptly paid, it can rub off some of these achievements of government.

    “The workers of Kogi State are law abiding and very supportive of the administration, but government at the federal, state and local levels should reciprocate this gesture by paying the backlog of salary arrears owed to them so that workers can continue to put in their best in the service of their fatherland.“

  • Labour rejects N27, 000 offer for states

    THE N27, 000 recommended approved yesterday by the National Council of State as minimum wage for states and the private sector has been rejected by Labour.

    In separate statements, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and United Labour Congress (ULC) described the decision as unfortunate and shocking.

    Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) said last night on the Council’s approval: “With profound respect, the members of the Council acted ultra vires as it has no power whatsoever to approve minimum wage. It is not an approving authority but an advisory body to the president in the areas listed in Part 1 of the Schedule to the Constitution. And the areas do not cover minimum wage.” Falana is Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)’s lawyer.

    The TUC said in the statement signed by its President Bobboi Kaigama that the decision must not be allowed to stand because it will set a wrong precedence for the future, arguing that the Council lacked the power to the position already taken be statutory bodies.

    Kaigama said: “Let it be known that N30, 000 minimum wage is a product of negotiation, not legislation, not advice and not a decree.

    “Minimum wage issue therefore, is moving to a new theatre, the National Assembly. We expect the representative of the people if really they are to do the needful during the public hearing.”

    According to the ULC, the news that the National Council of State unilaterally proposed N27, 000 as the new National Minimum Wage “is shocking and goes against the grain of all known traditions and practices of industrial relations especially as it concerns National Minimum Wage setting framework.

    Its President Joe Ajaero said: “ULC rising from its just concluded Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting today in Lagos rejects in its entirety the proposed N27, 000 which is contrary to the N30,000 agreed by the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee and which has since been submitted to the President.

    “We state that the National Council of State in a National Minimum Wage setting mechanism is an aberration. It is also important that we make it clear that the National Council of State does not have powers to approve, confirm, affirm or accept any figure as the new National Minimum Wage. What they have pretended to have done is therefore without any force of Law, standards or other known practices of Industrial Relations the world over.”

    Read also: Council of State okays N27,000 minimum wage

    He said that it is a mockery of the essence and principle behind the setting of a National Minimum Wage to attempt to segregate it between federal workers and state workers.

    “We want to state that workers are workers everywhere whether at the federal level or at the state level. They all have the same challenges; go to the same market, same schools and much more they suffer the same fate. You cannot therefore pay them differently.

    “The government’s attempt at this dichotomy is an effort at segregation and apartheid in nature. It is an attempt to put a sword within the trade union movement and to further the marginalisation of private sector workers in Nigeria thus seek to weaken the trade union movement in the country.

    “ULC saw this coming earlier in January and that was why we distanced ourselves. We will, however, in the next few days in consultation with other labour centres, if they are still in the struggle for a just national minimum wage, take steps to ensure that the interests of Nigerian workers as it concerns the National Minimum Wage are protected.”

     

  • Labour banks on Rewane Committee

    Organised Labour has urged the Technical Advisory Committee set up by the Federal Government on the minimum wage not to disappoint workers.

    It said workers were optimistic that the Bismack Rewane-led committee would help ameliorate their plight.

    Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) President,  an affiliate of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Quadri Olaleye urged Rewane to use his position and knowledge of the economy to ensure that the previous Committee reports is adopted.

    He said this would aid the passage of the Minimum Wage Bill, adding that the Minimum wage of N18,000 could not meet the needs of an average worker and the fact that some state governments were still owing salaries and other allowances had further pauperised workers.

    He said the organised labour had pursued this cause with zeal because the minimum wage is the benchmark salary for both the private and public sectors.

    He said: “We are not happy with the slow pace at which the implementation is going, considering the rate of inflation that has moved to double digits, which is a pointer to the fact that the value of naira has depreciated to the extent that workers cannot afford the essentials of life.

    “However, going by your achievements as an economist, we are optimistic that your assumption of office as the Chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee would provide an avenue for all the previous Committee reports to be adopted so as to present positions that will aid the passage of the Minimum Wage Bill.”

    While congratulating Mr Bismarck on the appointment, he said: “Your appointment is in recognition of your dint of hard work, integrity, capacity, competence, diligence and enviable achievement as an Economist and your immense contributions to the improvement of our ailing economy.”

    He said the essence of governance is to make life better for the citizens and the union believes that an upward review of the national minimum wage of N18,000 as requested by the organised labour will go a long way to reduce the untold hardship presently facing Nigerians workers

    “It is our hope that you will use your new appointment to strengthen our relationship with  the government while looking forward to a quick signing into law  of the Minimum Wage Bill by the President,” he said.

  • Labour: we’re monitoring lawmakers

    • Urges committee to fast-track minimum wage implementation

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is monitoring the transmission of an Executive Bill on the new minimum wage from the Presidency to the National Assembly, its General Secretary Peter Ozo-Eson has said.

    There has been fear of a fresh crisis in the negotiation between the organised labour and the Federal Government on the new minimum wage.

    This followed a disclosure by a source at the National Assembly that lawmakers would go on another recess on or before the presentation of the bill on January 23.

    The recess, it was gathered, would enable the lawmakers prepare for the next month’s elections.

    Ozo-Eson told The Nation that workers would kick if work on the minimum wage was not completed before the agreed time.

    Also, a National Executive Council (NEC) member of the NLC and labour representative on the National Income and Wages Commission, Comrade Issa Aremu, called on the newly inaugurated Bismarck Rewane-led Technical Advisory Committee on the Implementation of a National Minimum Wage to facilitate the implementation of the negotiated N30,000.

    Aremu said it was reassuring that President Muhammadu Buhari reaffirmed his commitment to the new wage during his discussion with organised labour and that it should send the Executive Bill on the matter to the National Assembly before January 23.

    Aremu, the Labour Party gubernatorial candidate in Kwara State, noted that while the Bismarck-led Technical Committee was made up of eminent experts, it was desirable that the representatives of organised labour were parties to the implementation of what he called critical labour market issues like minimum wage and slavery review for other categories of workers earning above the minimum.

    “Indeed, ideally the best statutory committee to drive the mandate of the Bismarck Committee would have been National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC),” he said.

    According to him, the 25-year-old Commission provides technical input to the work of Tripartite Committees on the determination and fixing of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), made up of government, the organised labour and employers.

    The Commission, he recalled, performed this role when the Tripartite Committee in 2000 fixed it fixed   the wage at N5,500 and in 2011 when it fixed  the wage at N18,000 monthly.

    “The Executive Chairman of the Commission, Richard Ebule, served as a member/secretary to the Tripartite Committee inaugurated by Mr. President on 27th November, 2017, which midwived the New minimum wage of N30,000.

    “The Commission, as in previous occasions, also provided the Secretariat to the Committee. The Commission had provided technical inputs and compensation architecture that led to the creation of new pay structures for the public service,” he said.