The Nation Newspaper

Tag: minimum wage

  • Minimum Wage: Between pressure and sabotage

    Even as the federal government has set January 23 as date for transmitting the National Minimum Wage bill to the National Assembly for legislation, and the organised Labour did a 360 from calling for a strike action on January 8 to re-naming it a peaceful protest, nothing can shake off the thick dust of political ulterior motives that has been gathering on its much-touted labour agenda as it dares to maintain an alarming aloofness to the clear and present danger of scuttling the February general elections.

    There is just no basis for exaggerating the urgency of a new minimum wage above that of keeping to the fixed schedule of general elections , preparations for which have not only cost a fortune but are virtually concluded.

    For the avoidance of doubt, the principle and need for a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers is incontestable and certainly the federal government is not against it. The main obstacle to the NLC’s legitimate clamour for implementation is the tempo and timing. On this score, not even the NLC hawks can raise reasonable rejoinder.

    President Buhari conveyed the context of widespread concern over the NLC strike by appealing to labour leaders to temper agitation with circumspection and urging them to consider what his government inherited and what it was doing with fewer resources to put the economy in the right shape, noting that “Nigerians would never forget the lost opportunity between 1999 and 2015 when the nation had huge resources at its disposal “.

    In fact, it will take much more than frenzied labour agitation over a new minimum wage to make it a sustainable reality going by the prevailing circumstances, especially the drastic decline in government earnings which resulted in failure to pay salaries and meet other important obligations. Most states cannot pay existing wages regularly as expected. The bureaucratic and constitutional processes for implementing the new minimum wage cannot be wished away by NLC’s impatient agitation which also turns deaf ears to wise counsel on the inevitability of time-consuming constitutional and fiscal adjustments to reflect varying capacities and enable smooth implementation.

    Sadly, there is little evidence of sobriety replacing air-punching exuberance for a systematic approach to implementing a new minimum wage as the latest disruptive protests across the country by NLC show. This overzealous stance suggests adoption of political blackmail as a sinister strategy with a probable pre-meditated agenda of scuttling the scheduled general elections, now only weeks ahead.

    The sincerity of the labour leaders is also suspect, seeing how eagerly the hawkish ASUU elements embraced INEC’s lucrative offer of ad-hoc jobs, without blinking, and thereafter morphed back to their uncompromising stance of sacrificing the same elections on the altar of new minimum wage in meetings with the federal government. Not even NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, escaped exposure of the hollowness of their haughty posture on the elections as he sought to rattle any governor unable to pay workers the new minimum wage by threatening “we shall vote them out in 2019.”

    Obviously, the NLC is not oblivious of the overriding imperative of holding the general elections as scheduled in the larger interest of the stability and development of the nation’s democracy, even though it is wittingly lending itself to the nefarious agenda of the opposition to try to embarrass the Buhari administration in spite of impressive record of worker-friendliness in upward review of police salaries and “miraculous” settlement of accumulated entitlements of forgotten Nigeria Airways and NITEL pensioners, among others.

    The new minimum wage cannot be implemented under duress and due process that must be followed cannot be stampeded by unrealistic ultimatum. Having gotten to the stage of preparing the bill for legislative processing and accepting the non-sustainability of a uniform minimum wage for all tiers of government, maturity and patience on the part of NLC leadership will provide the enabling environment for a comprehensive resolution and adoption of a realistic national minimum wage policy that will stand the test of time.

    President Buhari’s track record in fast-tracking decisions to better the terms of service of workers and pensioners holds greater promise of fulfilment of next level of workers’ aspirations than the rabble-rousing rampage of politicized labour leaders who don’t mind scuttling scheduled general elections. The groundswell of mass mobilisation towards robust participation in the February elections should not be underestimated by labour leaders.

    And now that the New Minimum Wage Bill will be transmitted to the National Assembly which has all but grounded all legislative responsibilities in favour of electioneering, it is hoped that the leadership of Organised Labour would transfer the trademark aggression displayed towards the presidency during negotiations to the leadership of the legislative arm. It is curious that so much labour venom has been spewing over minimum wage while the contrasting anomaly of mind-boggling unjustifiable bonanza pay-as-you-please packages of federal legislators evaded labour radar.

    It is difficult to understand why the NLC leaders adopted a myopic and isolationist approach on this issue if not for political mischief. They cannot just be realising now, for example, that a new minimum wage will not have far-reaching implications beyond the Buhari Presidency which they have been victimizing relentlessly. They cannot claim ignorance of the fact that the economic challenges encumbering the nation today are fallouts of the profligacy and plunder of the predecessor government. State governments certainly pose stiffer impediments to magic-wand implementation of higher minimum wage demanded from the federal government by the NLC whose leaders also downplay more serious deprivations of workers that a new minimum wage will not redress.

    With the empanelling of carefully selected team of relevant experts, under respected finance and budget guru, Bismark Rewane and President Buhari’s thoughtful pointer to the more arduous task of corresponding review of salaries currently above the minimum wage that must be carried out, the NLC’s exuberant agitation and overzealous time-line portrays an unbecoming departure from the maturity and foresight expected of responsible trade unionism. It’s time for Ayuba Wabba  to drop the misplaced militancy.

     

    • Goodluck, a public affairs analyst, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

  • Why we’re not involved in technical committee, by NLC

    NIGERIA Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba has explained why Labour is not involved in the Technical Committee on the Implementation of the national minimum wage being proposed.

    The panel, the unionist stated, “is purely an internal arrangement  of the Federal Government.”

    Reacting to the inauguration of the committee by President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday,  Wabba said the Minister of Labour & Employment,  Dr. Chris Ngige, has already assured Labour that the committee was an in-house affair of the government and has nothing to do with Labour”.

    Wabba informed that the government promised Labour to  put in place processes of mobilising resources, adding that Labour had thought that the committee will renegotiate the minimum wage, “but we’re assured that it has nothing to do with that.”

    Also reacting,  General Secretary of the National Union of Textiles, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Issa Aremu, said the committee should facilitate the full implementation of the negotiated N30,000 and not in any way undermine the implementation of the new minimum wage.

    Read also: Harmattan fire burns 300 corpses beyond recognition

    Aremu, who is a NEC member of NLC and labour representative on the National Income and Wages Commission, said the technical committee was mandated to anticipate the implications of the new minimum wage increase for the upward “salary review for all the workers who are already earning above the new minimum wage”, it was commendable.

    He said it was reassuring “that President Muhammad Buhari reaffirmed commitment to the new minimum wage with the discussion with organised labour to send the Executive Bill to that effect before January 23rd.”

    Aremu described as desirable that the representatives of Labour were parties to the implementation of what he called “critical labour market issues like minimum wage and salary 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).”

  • Minimum Wage: Buhari appoints Rewane to head committee

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday appointed Bismarck Rewane as head of newly inaugurated Technical Advisory Committee on the implementation of a National Minimum Wage.

    Inaugurating the committee before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council meeting at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa Abuja, Buhari said that after the new minimum wage has been passed into law, government will go into negotiations for salary review for all the workers who are already earning above the new minimum wage.

    According to him, it was important to properly prepare the minds of those involved so that they will not be taken unawares when the time comes.

    Pointing out that the last time Nigeria’s national minimum wage was reviewed was in 2011, he said that it was evident that a review was necessary, despite the prevailing fiscal challenges.

    He said “This is why I constituted the Tripartite Committee of Government, Organized Private Sector and Labour to consider the National Minimum Wage and make recommendations to Government for its upward review.

    “That Committee has since submitted its report with some recommendations. We are currently working on the final steps that will lead to the submission of a National Minimum Wage Amendment Bill to the National Assembly.

    “I want to make it clear that there is no question about whether the National Minimum Wage will be reviewed upwards. I am committed to a review of the Minimum Wage.

    “Also, it is important to explain that even though the subject of a National Minimum Wage is in the Exclusive Legislative List, we have been meeting with the State Governors because it is imperative that the Federal Government carries the State Governments along in determining any upward review of the minimum wage for workers.

    “This is especially necessary considering the prevailing public sector revenue challenges, which have made it extremely difficult for some of the governments to pay workers as and when due.

    “As you know we, at the Federal level, have made adequate provision for the increase in the Minimum Wage in our 2019 Budget proposals which we submitted to the National Assembly. Therefore, we will be able to meet the additional costs that will be incurred in moving up all personnel who are currently earning below the new minimum wage.

    “However, we anticipate that after the new minimum wage has been passed into law we will be going into negotiations for salary review for all the workers who are already earning above the new minimum wage. It is therefore important that we are properly prepared to meet these demands.

    “We must therefore look at ways of implementing these consequential wage adjustments in a manner that does not have adverse effects on our national development plans, as laid out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). The ERGP sets appropriate targets for levels of Capital Expenditure, Public Debt, Inflation, Employment, etc.

    “It is absolutely important that the implementation of a new minimum wage does not adversely affect these targets, and thereby erode the envisaged gains for the workers.

    “It is against this background that I have set up a Technical Committee to advise Government on how best to fund, in a sustained manner, the additional costs that will arise from the implementation of the consequential increases in salaries and allowances for workers currently earning above the new minimum wage.” he said

    He said that the inaugurated technical committee will be chaired by an economist and financial expert, Mr. Bismarck Rewane with other experienced economists and administrators from the private sector working together with all the relevant officials of government.

    He enumerated the terms of reference for the committee to include develop, and advise government on how to successfully bring about a smooth implementation of impending wage increases and identify new revenue sources, and areas of existing expenditure from where some savings could be made in order to fund the wage increases without adversely impacting the nation’s development goals as set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

    Others are to “propose a work plan and modalities for the implementation of the salary increases, any other suggestions that will assist in the implementation of this, and future wage increases.

    “Given the urgency of this exercise, the Committee is expected to complete its deliberations and submit its report and recommendations within one month today.

    “It is now my pleasure to formally inaugurate the Technical Advisory Committee on the Implementation of an Increase in the National Minimum Wage.”

    Others in the committee are former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr Babatunde Fowler, ex-FIRS boss, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, Dr Ayo Teriba, Chief Executive Officer among other and Prof. Akpan Ekpo.

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    From the public sector are: Chairman FIRS, Dr Babatunde Fowler, Director General of Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, who is the secretary of the committee, representative of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Richard Egbule, Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, Permanent Secretary General Service Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Olusegun Adekunle, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Olajide Odewale, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Labour Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, and Solicitor General Of the Federation and Permanent Secretary ministry of Justice Mr. Dayo Apata.

    Others are Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, office of the Vice President, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Economic Policy Dr. Joseph Nnanna, Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, Director General Debt Management Officer, Ms. Patience Oniaga, Director General National Institute of Social and Economic Research, Dr. Folarin Gbadebo-Smith, Statistician General, National Bureau of Statistics, Dr. Yemi Kale, Mrs. Aisha Hamad, Mamman Garba and Tunde Lawal.

    The committee has a month to complete and submit its report.

    It also came about 24 hours after the government and organised Labour – agreed to forward the new National Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly on or before January 23.

    The organised labour, had in December 2018, rejected any attempt by the Federal Government to set up another committee on the national minimum wage, describing any such plan as diversionary and delay tactics.

    President Buhari, had during the budget proposal presentation, promised a new minimum wage which he said will help maintain jobs for the teaming unemployed.

    He had also promised to set up a special committee to look into the current fiasco concerning the minimum wage and come up with ideas of reducing debt and yet, increasing the minimum wage.

    “We have included the implementation for the National Minimum Wage. I will be sending a Bill to this National Assembly, on this.

    “To avoid a system crisis on the Federal Government and states, it is important to device ways to ensure that its implementation does not lead to an increase in the level of borrowing.

    “I am accordingly setting up a high-powered technical committee to advice on ways of funding an increase in the minimum wage and attendant wage adjustments without having to resort to additional borrowing.

    “The work of the committee will be the basis of finance bill which will be submitted to the national assembly alongside the minimum wage bill.” he had stated

    The Amal Pepple National Minimum sage Committee submitted its report in November 6 2018.

  • Abiara backs workers on N30,000 minimum wage

    FORMER General Evangelist of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide Prophet Samuel Abiara has backed Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) demand of N30,000 minimum wage.

    The demand, he said, was in order and even small, going by the rise in prices of goods and services.

    He appealed to the Federal Government to accede to workers’ demand for a decent take-home and avert a strike that might cripple the economy.

    Abiara, in his New Year’s message, said: “Nigerian workers are demanding $87 (N30,000). What they are asking for is not too much because prices have gone up, especially food items.

    ‘’I advise the Federal Government to do something reasonable about workers’ salary. The government should not allow them go on strike because it will cripple the economy.”

    The cleric also urged the government to prioritise welfare this year, calling on rich Nigerians to empower the less-privileged.

    “The government should reach out to the poor this year. Those who are blessed by God should help the less-privileged. People in positions of authority, business men and women, who want to enjoy the backing of God must help the less-privileged.”

    The cleric also advised politicians to avoid hate speech in the run-off to the elections, and be ready to accept the outcome of the polls in the spirit of good sportsmanship.

     

  • Kano agrees to pay N30,600 minimum wage‎

    The Government of Kano State has restated its commitment to pay the new minimum wage of N30,000 with additional N600.

    Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano disclosed this when members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) staged a peaceful protest to the government house on Tuesday in Kano.

    He said that his administration has given priority to the welfare of civil servants in the state.

    Represented by his Deputy, Alhaji Nasiru Gawuna, he said that Kano state was among the few States in the country that pays monthly salary on time.

    “We are ready to pay N30,000 monthly salary because welfare of our workers is paramount to anything and we will always give it preference.

    “We will pay the N30,600 as soon as all processes are completed,” he added.

    Read Also: We’ll make workers smile soon-Ajimobi

    Ganduje then urged ‎women and youths to stay away from drug abuse and addiction due to their harmful effects to health.‎

    ‎”Our women, particularly married women and youths must say no to drug abuse and addiction. They should stop abusing it because it will ultimately damage their systems and cut short their lives,” he warned.‎

    ‎Earlier, the NLC Chairman in the state, Mr Kabiru Minjibir, commended the governor for his commitment to pay the minimum wage of N30,600.‎

    ‎”We are not surprise for this kind gesture taking into consideration your labour friendly disposition.

    “We also urge your excellency to convey our polite gesture to your co-governors to enlighten the public on new national minimum wage and it’s speedy enactment into law,” he added.

  • We’ll make workers smile soon-Ajimobi

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has said that his administration will soon put smiles on the faces of its worker when the issue of national minimum wage is addressed.

    He also assured workers their pay will soon rise in compliance with the new wage law.

    Ajimobi spoke on Tuesday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital while addressing the Oyo State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress in his office at Agodi, Ibadan during a peaceful protest by NLC to demand for the implementation of N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

    Ajimobi, speaking through his deputy, Otunba Moses Adeyemo, said every reasonable person knows N18,000 which is the current national minimum wage is very small because the price of goods and service had increased in the country.

    He pointed out President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to the welfare of the workers, adding government will ensure speedy passage and implementation of the new national minimum wage.

    He also assured he will soon deliver a letter from the labour unions to the president, urging the workers to be calm as all their grievances would be addressed and look into.

    Chairman of NLC in Oyo State, Comrade Waheed Olojede, said the essence of the peaceful protest was to call on government to quickly pass the recommendation of the tripartite committee to the National Assembly so that they can enact it into law

    “We come today to express some of our demand particularly the implementation of the new national minimum wage as recommended recently by the committee constituted by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    “We are calling on the presidency to present the recommendation to the national assembly so that the national assembly can enact it into law.”

    The Oyo State NLC chairman added workers were worried with delay in passing a bill to the National Assembly on the new minimum wage.

    Olojede pointed out that long after the commencement of the national minimum wage, other nation’s in West Africa had since concluded and implement their minimum wage.

    “Nigeria as the giant of Africa should do the needful and see Nigerian workers as human being, not as use and dump,” he said.

    Read Also: Kogi, labour disagree over unpaid salary

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  • Kogi, labour disagree over unpaid salary

    The Kogi State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has alleged that workers in the state were still owed variants of five months, 10 months, 15-24 months by the state government.

    The state chairman of NLC, Comrade Enuh Edoka, said this on Tuesday in the Government House Lokoja, while presenting the workers’ demands during a protest for the actualization of N30,000 minimum wage.

    He said the workers passed through dire situations owing to irregular payment of salaries.

    According to him: “As we are protesting now, workers are being owed five months, 10 months while some suffered 15-24 months without receiving salaries.”

    He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to implement the N30,000 new minimum wage without delay.

    He appealed to the president not to be distracted by some hiding under the guise of “Nigeria Governors Forum” to thwart the effort of the Federal Government.

    “We hereby reiterate our directive to Nigerian workers to vote out any politician or political party that refuse to pay the new national minimum wage of N30,000.

    “We shall continue to consolidate our efforts to strengthen already existing platforms and structures to give teeth to our firm resolve to remove from power anti-labour governors and political leaders in the forthcoming 2019 general election.

    “We urge government to desist from using the threat of mass sack or the barbaric policy of “no work… no pay” to break our resolve, as this would only calcify our position,” he added.

    Read Also: FG, Labour reach truce on minimum wage

    The Chief of Staff to the Kogi State Governor, Chief Edward Onoja, asserted that with workers at the local government level, salary payment has not gone below 50 percent.

    He said that the state government will collaborate with organised labour, to ensure that the minimum wage demand is given the maximum attention it deserves.

    The President, National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Kogi chapter, Comrade Tade Adeyemi, disagreed with some of the claims by government, saying workers have been receiving 25- 30 percent salaries in the last six months.

    “I want to on behalf of the entire local government workers, register our displeasure that despite our agreement, that no LGA should receive less than 54 percent, I want to point it to you that, majority of LGA workers are receiving 25-30 perceived salaries”, he said.

  • NLC vows to vote out elected officers against minimum wage

    The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has vowed to use the opportunity of the 2019 general elections to punish State governors and other politicians paying lip service to the implementation of the proposed N30,000 minimum wage.

    Chairman of the NLC in Delta State, Mr. Jonathan Jemiriegbe stated this in Asaba on Tuesday shortly after leading a rally to the Government House where he presented a position paper to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

    Okowa who is seeking a second term in office had promised to implement the new minimum wage once it is approved at the national level.

    Represented by his Chief of Staff, Tam Brisibe, the governor said his administration is labour friendly, and commended the organized labour in the state for their cooperation and support in the past three years.

    However, Mr. Jemiriegbe told newsmen that it was not enough to make pronouncement that the new wage will be implemented, saying that the national leadership of NLC will continue to mount pressure on the Federal Government to approve the new wage.

    “We will continue to mount pressure on government to expedite action in passing into law the new national minimum wage and its implementation, the onus lies on labour to do the needful.

    “Today was rumored to be for mass rally and strike but because of the ongoing negotiations, the second aspect was shelved. I think before the close of work today, we will also hear from the president on the decision reached with Federal Government.

    “I am not certain if we are going on another mass rally but rather if Federal Government fails to do the needful as we have heard from the state government that they are waiting for FG, Delta State Government has assured that it will implement immediately.

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    “So all eyes are on the Federal Government to do the needful, we will then know state governors that are saying the truth and those just hiding under the guise of waiting for approval,” he stated.

    The NLC chairman said labour was not against the forthcoming general elections, noting however that if the elections must be successful, the issue of the new minimum wage should not be waved aside.

    “We don’t want to be saboteurs in the electoral processes, and that is why we kept our doors opened, whenever we are called upon for negotiation, we always oblige. We don’t want anybody to say that labour wants to truncate the elections.

    “But the issue is that if the election must be successful, the aspect of the new minimum wage is not a thing you can just wave aside. The minimum wage is a determinant factor for any politician seeking elective office.

    “That is exactly what we are going to do on the day of election. You cannot tell us that you are labour friendly or you are there to represent us and protect our welfare whereas you jettison the new minimum wage,” he added.

  • Photos: NLC holds nationwide protest over minimum wage

    The Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC ) has embarked on a nationwide protest today ahead of the commencement of an indefinite strike.

    The protest rally was to create awareness on the new Minimum Wage for workers and to press home its demand for an executive draft bill on the N30,000 minimum wage to be transmitted by the presidency to the National Assembly.

    See photos below:

    Read Also: 2019: no minimum wage, no elections, NLC declares

     

     

  • 2019: no minimum wage, no elections, NLC declares

    The Cross River Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, ( NLC ) says it will not participate in the 2019 general elections if the federal and state governments fail to implement the N30,000 minimum wage.

    The state NLC Chairman, Mr John Ushie, made the declaration on Tuesday during a peaceful protest in Calabar to press home the workers’ demand for the implementation of the minimum wage.

    Ushie said that the current minimum wage of N18,000 had become obsolete since 2015, and accused the Federal Government of playing on the intelligence of workers’ by holding several fruitless meetings to avert strike.

    The chairman decried the long period the minimum the wage bill had been with the Presidency with no plans of transmitting it to the National Assembly for passage into law.

    “Labour will continue the struggle until we get victory. Victory does not come easy, it will require all our energy, and it will require us to put all.

    “The minimum wage is long overdue since 2015. Workers have run out of patience, so we are here to take our destinies in our hands.

    “We are here to protest because it is a national directive; we will do so until we get a commitment from government concerning the N30,000 minimum wage and when it will be enacted into law.

    “Secondly, we are here to send a message to President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately transmit the minimum wage bill to the National Assembly for passage, so that the money can get to Nigerian workers without further delay.

    “If the Federal Government and governors say no to minimum wage, we also say there is no vote for them; no election,’’ he said.

    He said that the rally will culminate into an indefinite strike if nothing was done quickly by the Federal Government.

    Also, Mr Boniface Isok, a national officer of the NLC, who said he was in Calabar to monitor the rally, maintained that workers would not participate in the 2019 general elections if the minimum wage was not implemented.

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    Isok said that the organised labour would not hesitate to embark on an indefinite strike if the Federal Government failed to transmit the bill to the National Assembly.

    “Anytime the Federal Government heard that we want to go on strike, they will fix a meeting with no reason for it. This time, we are not giving a notice for strike.

    “The Federal Government wants to hold the 2019 general elections without implementing the minimum wage because they know that once the election is held, that becomes the end of the minimum wage.

    “If the Federal Government does not sign the minimum wage bill into law, there will be no election. We are ready for them this time,’’ he said.