The Nation Newspaper

Tag: minimum wage

  • Minimum Wage: Labour, FG make progress- Wabba

    Ayuba Wabba, NLC President, has confirmed that the organised labour had a useful discussion with the federal government on Tuesday and promised they would reconvene on Wednesday to finalise talks on the new national minimum wage.

    He said that labour leaders had consulted and agreed to meet with the government on Wednesday by 1p.m to ensure that the processes for the transmission of the bill on the minimum would be completed without further delay.

    But he said that the labour would go ahead with the mass protest nationwide on Wednesday.

    “The protest is about implementation, it has no link with the transmission. We are trying to see how the bill will be transmitted to the National Assembly.

    “The protest is about how to get all parties committed to the issue of minimum wage, it is different from how we get this bill transmitted with timeline to the national assembly,” he added.

    Earlier, Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, said after the closed door meeting with labour on Tuesday in Abuja that they made progress and explained that a definite date to transmit the bill to National Assembly will be known by Wednesday.

    The National Executive Council (NEC) of the NLC had threatened to embark on a nationwide protest on January 8, if the Federal Government failed to transmit the bill on minimum wage to the National Assembly.

    The organised labour gave the threat following President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that a “high powered technical committee” would be set up to device ways to ensure that minimum wage implementation did not lead to an increase in the level of borrowing.

    “It has been difficult to arrive at a date because there are processes to follow on the bill.

    “We have to go to the Federal Executive Council with a council memo on the bill after that, we will go to the National Economic Council and the Council of State.

    “But for the Council of State, the President has to look at his own time table and we will inform past Heads of State and Justice of the Federation. This can take two weeks.

    “However, we are trying to see if we can accommodate all these meetings by next week because we cannot do Council of State meeting again this week.

    “Immediately after that meeting (Council of State), we will transmit the bill,” he said.

  • Minimum wage: We’ve not declared strike action, says NLC

    THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has put to rest speculations of a nationwide strike beginning from today.

    It said it has not called for any strike action to protest the delay in transmitting the minimum wage bill to the National Assembly.

    Its General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said in a statement that what the congress has called for today is a day of protest and mobilisation across the states to sensitise Nigerians and workers on the minimum wage issue.

    Ozo-Eson said the national day of protest does not translate into a strike action, adding that whenever labour decides on a date for a nationwide strike, Nigerians would be informed accordingly.

    The statement reads: “It has come to our attention that some section of the news media has largely misrepresented our action plan in reaction to the delay in transmitting the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee on a new National Minimum Wage to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “It should be recalled that the National Executive Council of NLC met on December 17, last year and directed that we hold nationwide mobilisation of workers and our allies if by December 31, 2018, the bill on the National Minimum Wage was yet to be sent to the National Assembly to be passed as an Act of Parliament.

    Read also: Senate to NLC: shelve minimum wage strike

    “We immediately announced then that on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, there will be a nationwide mass mobilisation and protests simultaneously across all states in Nigeria. This does not translate to a strike.”

    It added: “It is on record that each time we had cause to embark on a national strike, we say so publicly without any equivocation. We still don’t understand where the story about a strike commencing tomorrow came from.

    “Already, all our state councils, affiliate unions and allies in other pro-people mass organisations now popularly referred to as civil society organisations have been fully informed and mobilised to ensure the success of tomorrow’s mass protests in all the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    “When a date is decided for the commencement of a strike subsequently, we will inform the public appropriately.”

    The Senate panel on Labour  yesterday pleaded with organised labour to shelve its planned nationwide industrial action.

    The panel said the  NLC and its sister organisations should drop the proposed strike because findings showed that President Muhammadu Buhari is working to convince states to pay the new wage.

    Chairman Senate Committee on Labour, Senator Abu Ibrahim, who spoke on labour’s strike threat over the N30,000 minimum wage agitation, said the federal and state governments on one hand and organised labour on the other hand should work to strike a balance in the interest of the country.

  • Strike fever over minimum wage

    Organised labour has said this year will be a challenging one for workers. They refer to issues, such as the minimum wage, unemployment and the debt burden, among others that would spark unrest. TOBA AGBOOLA reports.

    Minimum Wage

    There is anxiety in government circles over Labour’s plan to go on strike. The action is to push the demand for a new minimum wage.

    The Federal Government has invited workers’ representatives to a meeting  in a move to avert the impending industrial action.

    Labour is angry that the Presidency is yet to transmit the New National Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly.

    Labour has demanded N30, 000 for the least paid worker.

    Speaking with The Nation, the President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade  Ayuba Wabba, said government’s dilly-dallying on the issue has strained its relationship with Labour and left it with no option other than a major national strike.

    The protest, according to the NLC president, is to express anger and total disatisfaction over the delay by the Federal Government in transmitting, enacting and implementing the new national minimum wage of N30,000.

    Wabba said the strike has become the last option for the workers, adding that labour craves the understanding and support of all Nigerians and businesses.

    The tripartite committee which comprised representatives of the federal and state government, the organised private sector and the organised labour, had reportedly reached a compromise on N30, 000.

    Labour had initially demanded N66,500, Federal Government N24, 500 while state governors proposed N22,500.

    Governors under the platform of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) have declared that states were not in financial position to pay.

    According to chairman of NGF, Governor Abdulaziz Yari, no attempt to impose the sum would strangle the states.

    The president of TUC, Bobboi Bala Kaigama and Ozo-Eson, who said they might attend, however, said the meeting would not change the labour position on the proposed nationwide protest and strike.

    According to Kaigama, TUC would only attend the meeting as a matter of formality.

    “Of course when they invite us, we will attend. We do not believe in any technical committee, we’ve gone past that. During the tripartite committee sittings, we set up technical committee.

    ‘’If the technical committee they want to set up is on minimum wage, we’ve gone beyond that.”

    He maintained that organised labour only suspended its strike on the wage in November last year and would no longer give any notice on its proposed strike.

    “The three centres are going to meet any moment from now, we will not give any date, but (we would) just commence the suspended strike,” he said.

    But President of ULC, Joe Ajaero said labour has no reason to meet with the minister or Federal Government anymore since President Buhari had made it known in his budget speech that he wanted to set up a technical committee

    “How can Ngige send us such an invitation, we’ve made it known to him that we will not be attending the meeting.

    “Ngige can meet with his staff and aides. Labour had made it clear to the government that no other submission would be accepted except what was recommended by the tripartite committee.”

    Ajaero said the meeting was diversionary and labour would not be distracted.

    “The December 31 deadline given to the government to send the bill to the National Assembly has passed; our next step is to meet and harmonise our next move any moment from now,” he said.

    NLC General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson said Labour will not embark on an industrial action secretly.

    According to him, the workers’ union has asked its state councils to hold rallies in city centres beginning from January 8 to sensitise Nigerians on the looming action.

    Ozo-Eson said: “We (labour) have approved that the protests should hold in all state capitals and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on January 8, 2019, and mandates all industrial unions and state councils to fully mobilise workers and coordinate with other labour unions for this mother of all protests.

    “The excuse that the National Assembly is on break does not hold water as the report of the tripartite committee has been with the President for about two months.

    “Was the National Assembly on recess when the report was submitted? Didn’t the House of Representatives adopt a resolution calling on the President to transmit the bill?

    “The notice expired on December 31, 2018. When it was given, was the National Assembly on recess?’’

     

    Budget

    While reviewing the 2019 budget assumptions of the Federal Government, the organised Labour expressed apprehension about the capacity of the budget to move the economy out of the woods, create jobs and improve the human capacity potential of Nigerians.

    Sharing his view with The Nation, the Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association , Mr Timothy Olawale  who commended the President for submitting the Budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 ,  however noted that the foundation on which the budget was built is worrisome.

    He said the budget was benchmarked against $60 per barrel of oil at 2.3m litres daily, an exchange rate of N305 to $1, an inflation rate of 9.98 per cent and a GDP growth rate of 3.01 percent.

    This assumption, according to him, negates the reality of oil price volatility, adding that the oil industry experts had noted that the political dynamics of the Middle East might drive down the price of crude.

    “True to prediction, a barrel of Crude today sells for $54, $6 less than the benchmarked price and it is yet unknown how government will increase our present 2.09mbpd crude production to 2.3mbpd in 2019 and with OPEC’s resolution on cut in oil production, Nigeria’s daily production should now be 1.7mbpd.

    “A cursory look at the allocation to some critical sectors raises some germane questions about our readiness as a nation to address certain fundamental questions. Human capital development has been noted as critical to a nation’s development. It is, therefore, worrisome that education was allocated N462.24 billion, which is less than six per cent of the entire budget. This is a far cry from the UNESCO’s benchmark of 26 per cent of the national budget. A healthy nation is a prosperous nation. The N315.62billion, which represents a meagre 4.1 per cent of the budget tends to negate this mantra. This allocation also contrasts to the pledge made by member countries of the African Union (AU) to commit a minimum of 15 percent of their annual budget to their health sector”.

    While proffering a way out of the seeming quagmire, Olawale called for the elimination of resources wastages, perpetrated through the never-ending turnaround maintenance on the old refineries, encouragement of private investor in modular refineries and a total deregulation of the downstream sector.

    “As a matter of urgency, we must remove fuel subsidy which has become a conduit pipe for misappropriation of funds. It is not sustainable and we cannot continue to fund inefficiency,” he said.

    Olawale also expressed fears at the continuous and increasing debt profile of the nation following the release of the third quarter report of the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the 2019 budget assumptions.

    He said: “Figures released by the DMO showed that the Federal Government’s domestic debt profile rose to N15.814trillion in September, 2018 from N15.629trillion in June, 2018 (1.19 per cent increase). This figure becomes more worrisome when we look at the total public debt stock, comprising the external and domestic debt of the FGN, the 36 states and the FCT hitting the US$73.208billion (N22.38 trillion) recorded in June, 2018”.

    While discussing the implication of government’s huge borrowing in the domestic market, he stated that: “The size of government borrowing in the domestic financial market also continues to be a major source of concern as this has in no small measure, affected the chances of the real sector to access funding at a reasonable cost.

    Proposing a way out, he advised that the federal and state governments, as a matter of urgency, must take deliberate steps aimed at cutting the cost of governance and recurrent expenditure.

    He said government also needs to start paying serious attention to workable investment schemes, collaborating strongly with the private sector which is the engine room for economic growth.

    The NECA DG concluded that government has to recognise the important role of the private sector in building a robust economy, as oil revenue alone is not enough to place the country on the path of sustainable development. Government must therefore, make commitment to facilitate a favourable environment with policies that will attract private investors.

     

    Unemployment

    The organised labour has expressed serious concern over the recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which stated that the number of persons unemployed in the country has increased by 3.3million year on year from 17.6million in Q3 2017 to 20.9 million in Q3 2018. They are worried that the unemployment rate is likely to increase in 2019.

    The NLC charges Federal Government to create more jobs to reduce poverty rate.

    Ayuba Wabba, President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) called on the Federal Government to ensure sustainable jobs to reduce the rate of poverty in the country.

    He said government must implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to improve the lives of the people and develop the country.

    He said sustainable jobs would only be available if the government created conducive environment for industries to thrive.

    ”We cannot be importers and consumers of what we do not produce. There is the need to resuscitate closed factories such as textile and make business environment competitive and attractive,” he said.

    The NLC president said government should also reduce electricity tariff to boost production and make businesses thrive.

    Similarly, Dr. Mohammed Yinusa, President, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), who spoke on the nation’s poverty index, said government needed more interventions to raise the living standard of the people.

    Yinusa commended government’s pro-poor policies, but said government at all levels should pay attention to the development of critical indices of the Human Development Index (HDI).

    “The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report is an indication of a country’s quality of life. The report measures national achievement in health, education and income,” he said.

    He added that adequate and sustainable attention must be paid to the indices to lift the citizens out of poverty.

    Yinusa also urged government to work towards prioritising the creation of enabling environment for large, small and medium enterprises.

  • Minimum wage: FG, Labour meeting inconclusive

    Negotiation between the Federal Government and organized labour on the N30,000 minimum wage remained inconclusive at the end of another round of meeting last night in Abuja.

    Both sides are scheduled to reconvene on Monday to take a final decision on the grey areas.

    Labour Minister, Chris Ngige, told reporters at the end of a five -hour long meeting yesterday that substantial progress had been made in the discussion and that all that is left is a final resolution.

    Ngige said there was no deadlock as the two sides agreed on most of the issues tabled for discussion and only adjourned to allow for further consultations.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari wanted the issue thrashed out and he would not have set up the tripartite committee on the minimum wage if he was not interested in the matter in the first place.

    Also speaking,  NLC President,  Ayuba Wabba,  dismissed any idea that the meeting was deadlocked.

    His words: “The meeting decided to adjourn and reconvene on Monday for us to do further consultations before the issues are concluded. We have discussed all the issues and all the grey areas,  particularly how we can ensure that the issue is put behind us.

    “That is why we took such a long time, including having a timeout to consult.  But we have not been able to conclude and we have agreed to reconvene to tidy up the process.

    “The issue at stake is to make sure that the bill is transmitted and also other auxiliary issues that government says they are trying to put together. We also want to see how the money gets into the pocket of our workers because a lot of economic factors have affected the current wage.

    “But the major issue is that we have been able to have a meaningful social dialogue.  But the process is not conclusive and will reconvene on Monday.

    “Monday is not too far from now since today is Friday.”

    He said the outcome of Monday’s meeting would determine whether labour would proceed with its planned rallies on Tueday.

    Continuing, he said: “Part of the report that was submitted is all inclusive of the main report and draft bill.  But those processes which they need to ensure that a clean bill is transmitted to the National Assembly and what they now termed some physical issues are what we will tidy up on Monday. So, let us wait for that Monday.”

    The meeting started at about 12.50 pm with several breaks in between to allow for consultations with stakeholders including President Buhari.

    The Nation gathered that the labour leaders insisted on a definite date when the government will transmit the minimum wage bill to the National Assembly,  a decision the three ministers present could not take on their own.

    Addressing the meeting earlier, Ngige said the President was committed to giving Nigerian workers a new minimum wage.

    He said however that in addressing the issue,  the government wanted to ensure that the new minimum wage was sustainable.

    He said “I do realise that this is still part of the Christmas period and that people are still on holiday. You can see the two ministers in charge of government resources.  The Minister of Budget and National Planning and the Minister of Finance.  Mr.  President specifically asked them to be part of this meeting. We had to cut short our vacation because of the need for us to discuss.

    “You know that people can go to war when there is lack of information and in the process,  people can misconstrue and speculate. We called this meeting as a result of the communique issued by the Joint Labour Centres after your executive meeting in Lagos when you informed government that you are not happy with the implementation processes of the report of the tripartite committee.”

    President of the NLC,  Comrade Aruba Wabba said the organised labour has always wanted all issues of industrial relations resolved through dialogue,  adding that the issue on ground has nothing to do with money,  but the process leading to the final outcome.

    Wabba said “Clearly, we have always believed in social dialogue in resolving industrial relations issues.  From the beginning of the issue of this new national minimum wage which was legally due in 2016, labour has demonstrated enough patience and understanding and has followed all the processes to make sure that we are able to dispense with this issue.”

  • ACF to Labour leaders: don’t truncate democracy

    The  Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) yesterday faulted the planned strike by organized labour 40 days to the commencement of the 2019 elections.

    The forum said while it is all for the wellbeing of workers, it is worried about the “threat to industrial peace and harmony” posed by the planned strike.

    Labour is mobilizing workers to commence a strike over the stalemate with government on the N30,000 new minimum wage.

    The ACF in  a statement yesterday in Kaduna by its  National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu,   said the public “is getting extremely alarmed by the risky method they (labour) have chosen to fight for the welfare of their members.”

    He said: “the Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF) has nothing but sympathy and goodwill towards all Nigerian workers who continue to toil in an increasingly difficult economic environment. We also support whatever they or their unions legitimately do to improve on their welfare.

    “However, ACF wishes to draw the attention of the labour and trade union organizations to the fact that the public is getting extremely alarmed by the risky method they have chosen to fight for the welfare of their members.

    “It will be recalled that ASUU, ASUP and other unions in our tertiary institutions have been on “total, comprehensive and indefinite” strike almost 100 days to our general elections. And now, about 40 days to the elections, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, is threatening not only to call its members out on a “total and prolonged” strike but to “mobilize” them to paralyze the country.

    “The ACF is very much worried and concerned with this threat to industrial peace and harmony, and hereby appeals to the leadership of NLC and other trade unions to place the interest of the country above all other considerations.

    “Workers’ welfare can only be improved if the country is working and the general elections that is at the heart of our democracy is allowed to take place in a peaceful environment. We cannot afford to truncate our hard earned democracy at this material time when all hands are expected to be on deck to move the country forward.

    “We therefore urge the labour leaders to remain patriots and prevail on their members to suspend the proposed total strike and for ASUU and ASUP, we appeal that they call off the strike and return to the negotiation table.

    “ACF urges all interested parties to note that the issue of minimum wage transcends all sectors of the economy, hence the need for workers in both public, private sectors and governments to come together and agree on what the economy can accommodate, after which a bill to that effect can be transmitted to the National Assembly forthwith.”

  • Minimum wage: FG, labour meeting inconclusive again

    Negotiation between the Federal Government and organized labour on the N30000 minimum wage remained inconclusive at the end of another round of meeting last night in Abuja.

    Both sides are scheduled to reconvene on Monday to take a final decision on the grey areas.

    Labour Minister Chris Ngige told reporters at the end of a five-hour long meeting yesterday that substantial progress had been made in the discussion and that all that is left is a final resolution.

    Ngige said there was no deadlock as the two sides agreed on most of the issues tabled for discussion and only adjourned to allow for further consultations.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari wanted the issue thrashed out and he would not have set up the tripartite committee on the minimum wage if he was not interested in the matter in the first place.

    Also speaking,  NLC President  Ayuba Wabba dismissed any idea that the meeting was deadlocked.

    His words: “the meeting decided to adjourn and reconvene on Monday for us to do further consultations before the issues are concluded. We have discussed all the issues and all the areas, particularly how we can ensure that the issue is put behind us.

    “That is why we took such a long time, including having a timeout to consult.  But we have not been able to conclude and we have agreed to reconvene to tidy up the process.

    “The issue is stake is to make sure that the bill is transmitted and also other auxiliary issues that government says they are trying to put together. We also want to see how the money gets into the pocket of our workers because a lot of economic factors have affected the current wage.

    “But the major issue is that we have been able to have a meaningful social dialogue.  But the process is not conclusive and will reconvene on Monday.

    “Monday is not too far from now since today is Friday.”

    He said the outcome of Monday’s meeting would determine whether labour would proceed with its planned rallies on Tuesday.

    Continuing, he said: ”Part of the report that was submitted is all inclusive of the main report and draft bill.  But those processes which they need to ensure that a clean bill is transmitted to the National Assembly and what they now termed some physical issues are what we will tidy up on Monday. So, let us wait for that Monday.”

    The meeting started at about 12.50 pm with several breaks in-between to allow for consultations with stakeholders including President Buhari.

    The Nation gathered that the Labour leaders insisted on a definite date when the government will transmit the minimum wage bill to the National Assembly,  a decision the three ministers present could not take on their own.

    Addressing the meeting earlier, Ngige said the President was committed to giving Nigerian workers a new minimum wage.

    He said however that in addressing the issue,  the government wanted to ensure that the new minimum wage was sustainable.

    He said “I do realise that this is still part of the Christmas period and that people are still on holiday. You can see the two Ministers in charge of government resources.  The Minister of Budget and National Planning and the Minister of Finance.  Mr.  President specifically asked them to be part of this meeting. We had to cut short our vacation because of the need for us to discuss.

    Read also: Minimum wage: NLC, TUC urge Buhari to emulate ex-president

    “You know that people can go to war when there is a lack of information and in the process,  people can misconstrue and speculate. We called this meeting as a result of the communique issued by the joint Labour Centres after your Executive meeting in Lagos when you informed the government that you are not happy with the implementation processes of the report of the tripartite committee.”

    President of the NLC,  Comrade Aruba Wabba who spoke for Labour said organised has always wanted all issues of industrial relations resolved through dialogue,  adding that the issue on ground has nothing to do with money,  but the process leading to the final outcome.

    Wabba said “Clearly, we have always believed in social dialogue in resolving industrial relations issues.  From the beginning of the issue of this new national minimum wage which was legally due in 2016, labour has demonstrated enough patience and understanding and has followed all the processes to make sure that we are able to dispense with this issue.”

  • Abiara backs workers on N30,000 minimum wage

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

    The demand, he said, is not only in order but even small going by the astronomical rise in prices of goods and services in the nation.

    He appealed to the federal government to accede to the demand of the workers for them to earn a decent take-home and avert strike that may cripple the economy.

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

    “I want to use this medium to advise the Federal Government to do something reasonable about workers’ salary.

    “The government should not allow them to go on strike because it will cripple the economy.”

    Abiara called on government to also make welfare of the masses a top priority in 2019, calling on well-to-do Nigerians to also empower the less-privileged.

    According to him: “Government should remember to reach out to the poor people in the country this year.

    “Those who are blessed by God should help the less privileged in the society.

    “People in positions of authority, businessmen and women that want to enjoy the backing of God must help the less privileged.”

    He advised politicians to avoid hate speech in the run-off to the general elections and be ready to accept the outcomes of the polls in the spirit of good sportsmanship.

  • Protest: FG to meet Labour over minimum wage

    The Federal Government says it will meet with Organised Labour to prevent the threat of national industrial action over non-transmission of the New National Minimum Wage bill to the National Assembly.

    Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, said this in a statement signed by Mr Samuel Olowookere, the Director of Press in the ministry, on Wednesday in Abuja.

    According to the statement, the meeting is to nip in the bud threat of national industrial action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the transmission of the New National Minimum Wage to the National Assembly.

    “The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Executives of the Organised Labour Union on Jan.  4, at the Minister’s Conference Room by 10:30 am prompt.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the National Executive Council (NEC) of the NLC had threatened to embark on a nationwide protest on Jan. 8.

    Read also: Governors, labour stand-off on minimum wage continues

    The threat was to make the Federal Government send the tripartite committee’s report on N30,000 minimum wage to the National Assembly.

    The organised labour gave the ultimatum following President Muhammadu Buhari’s proposal to set up another committee to scrutinise the tripartite committee’s recommendation.

    A statement attributed to Buhari had indicated that a “high powered technical committee” would be set up to devise ways to ensure that its implementation did not lead to an increase in the level of borrowing.(NAN)

  • Claims we’re unwilling to pay N30, 000 wage mischievous- Govs

    The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has described as mischievous and misleading claims it members are not willing to pay N30, 000 minimum wage.

    It also stated Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) demand for probe of governors on alleged diversion of bailout is a needless attempt to steer the public away from President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to constitute another committee to review the minimum wage gridlock.

    The governors warned Organised Labour not to destroy the conviviality already building-up between them and workers, especially in states where governors are stepping up to the plate with the right decisions.

    In a statement by Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, NGF Head, Media and Public Affairs, the governors said the N22,500 they proposed was arrived at after extensive deliberations among all 36 governors, outlining their financial capacities and liquidity, considering the economic situation of the country and the states’ other obligations to the majority of the people of their various domains.

    He stated the governors were guided by the report of the Tripartite committee set up by the President.

    The statement reads in part: “Governors have collectively made it abundantly clear that they would have been happy to pay workers the N30,000 but times are hard and because of financial constraints and other limitations, many states cannot afford it, for now.

    “The NGF had offered workers a token increment to the sum of N22.500 from the current N18, 000 after the submission of the report of the Tripartite Committee set up by the President and headed by a retired Head of Service Ms. Amma Pepple on October 6th.

    “Governors also emphasised that N22.500 is a “baseline threshold”, meaning that any governor who can pay more than N22,500 is therefore free to go ahead and do so.

    “Let it be known that governors have met the President twice on this matter and presented their books to buttress their point.

    ”The president appears satisfied with the governors’ position, thus the decision to set up a new committee.

    “It is important to add that, there has never been a time in this country, when states have embarked on a more aggressive revenue drive than they are doing today. And this is without exception or prejudice to any state.

    “To put the records straight, governors are not under any obligation, by law, to show their books to the NLC.

    “But they have, in their pursuit of the understanding of the union, done so, not once, but several times over, with a view to letting NLC know that what they are asking for is neither realistic nor sustainable.

    “Yet, NLC remains adamant that its will must be done, or the heavens will fall.”

    They added:  “To therefore insist that states must oblige the NLC its demands, regardless of the economic gloom that stares the nation in the face is most unpatriotic and a deliberate attempt to hold the nation, especially the president, to ransom, this being an election year.

    “At this point it is important to remind the NLC that most governors exhibited a high sense of responsibility and concern for the plight of workers by ensuring that most of them were paid their December salaries ahead of time.

    “Some even received several months’ salary arrears that was owed them and they are happy with their governors.

    “This is not the time for the NLC to destroy the existing conviviality that is already building-up between workers and their governors, especially in those states of the federation where governors are stepping up to the plate with the right decisions.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Minimum wage: NLC, TUC urge Buhari to emulate ex-president

    THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)  and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have described the late former President Alhaji Shehu Shagari, as a national hero and a friend of workers, who gave them a minimum wage of N125 per month – equivalent of 200 dollars in 1981  – without workers having to struggle for it.

    They asked President Muhammadu Buhari to emulate the late Shagari by approving the N30,000 minimum wage, which they said is equivalent to  82 dollars.

    In separate statements in Abuja, the NLC  and TUC said despite the fact that Shagari came to power on a different  ideological platform,  he held a special place in the hearts of workers.

    NLC President  Comrade Ayuba Wabba said: “We at the  NLC would like to join the Nigerian government, world leaders, family members and other Nigerians in mourning the death of  Shagari, elder statesman and first Executive President.

    “As President,  Shagari was humble, personable, considerate and broad-minded – some of the reasons that explained his popularity among the ordinary people.

    “Shagari initiated some landmark projects, including iron and steel and petrochemicals in his quest to make Nigeria an industrial hub.

    “Not a few hold the view that but for the coup that removed him from power in 1983, unceremoniously cutting short his second term,  Shagari would have seen through his vision of a highly industrialised Nigeria. We similarly hold the view that given his urbane and simple and straight forward life style,   Shagari would have built an enduring culture of democratic succession in spite of some of the disputed elections in his time.

    “However, Shagari was blamed for not exercising requisite control over some of the rambunctious and corrupt members of his cabinet or party –  a fact not a few,  today,  believe was largely responsible for his removal from power. Amazingly,  his removal did little to diminish his towering stature as no act of corruption or wrong-doing was traced to him.

    “Thus, in retirement,  he was both a respected voice of moderation and wisdom from which succeeding leaders befitted till death took him away.

    “For us at the Nigeria Labour Congress,  Shagari,  in spite of having come to power on an ideological platform that was manifestly different from the one we subscribed to,  holds a special place in our hearts. For instance,  he signed into law the National Minimum Wage Act of 1981 that provided for a new national minimum wage of N125, which was equivalent to about $200.

    “It took more than deft move and political will to execute this.  It took the milk of human kindness in Shagari and his deep appreciation of the dignity of labour and value of the human life to do this.

    “To truly appreciate the value of what Shagari did for workers way back then without a bloody fight,  let us pause and reflect on the value of the present national minimum wage of N18,000 which is  $49;  and the new national minimum wage of N30,000 (equivalent to $82), which is due since 2016.

    “One of his other legacies was a national housing scheme,  a component of which was the building of low-cost houses for workers across the then 19 states of the federation.”

    On its part, the TUC said Nigerian leaders have a lot to learn from the late Shagari, adding that at the moment,  Nigeria need patriotic and selfless Nigerians, who would dedicate and commit themselves to the task.

    The TUC statement signed by its President,  Comrade Bobboi  Kaigama  and General Secretary, Comrade Musa-Lawal Ozigi reads: “TUC mourns the demise of Second Republic President at 93. We feel particularly pained by his death because of the challenges confronting the country presently. Dying on the eve of 2019 elections to us is not something to rejoice about, his age notwithstanding.

    “We have a task of building a strong and virile country that would rank among the comity of nations and we need patriotic and selfless Nigerians, who would dedicate and commit themselves to the task. Alhaji Shagari was a statesman and he carried himself as such till he died.

    “Every leader is a good listener. They are equally patient, tolerant and act with restraint. These virtues are not common sights in the political terrain these days. Baba was always calm, even when he had obvious reasons to be angry. The reverse is the case in the present day. Politics of acrimony, hate speeches, lies, thuggery, money laundering and a host of other vices are what define our polity today. It is quite unfortunate.

    “Emphatically speaking, the TUC would like to state here that we would not want to believe that the great teacher and former president died in order not to witness any form of crisis before, during and after the 2019 general elections. He believed in service to humanity and was labour friendly with the signing of a wage increase in 1981.

    “We do hope our dear President Muhammadu Buhari would honour our late former president with a new wage and ensure peaceful elections in 2019. There are many things to learn from the late ex-president and we urge politicians to emulate him for posterity sake”.