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Tag: NLC

  • 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.

  • FG, Labour reach truce on minimum wage

     

    Organised Labour and the federal government on Tuesday agreed on transmission of the executive bill on the new minimum wage to the National Assembly on or before January 23, 2019.

    Labour leaders and government delegation led by Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige reached the agreement after three days of discussion.

    Organised Labour were not happy with the delay in transmitting the bill to the National Assembly  and asked the government to do so before the end of December 2018 or face mass protests, which might culminate in a national wide strike.

    Addressing newsmen at the end of the final meeting on Tuesday, Ngige said government will follow all processes leading to the submission of the bill.

    He expressed hope the processes will be concluded on time for the bill to be transmitted to the legislators.

    He said: “We have a target time of January 23, 2018 and we hope that all things being equal, government will be able to do so.

    “We will take all statutory meetings of the Federal Executive Council, National Economic Council and the National Council of State meetings to enable us transmit the bill on the new national minimum wage.

    “I thank the labour unions for their understanding and appeal to them that the threats should come down. Protests are no longer necessary.”

    NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba said having arrived at a day for transmission of the bill Labour will shift agitation and lobby to the National Assembly.

    Asked whether the protest rallies will continue across the country, Wabba said: “You will recall that our demand is for the bill to be transmitted to National Assembly.

    “We wanted a firm commitment so that we don’t come round a cycle. We wanted the agreement to be documented and signed by government representatives. With that, we can follow up on the process hoping.

    “This thing has been on the table for more than two years and having submitted the report, we expect that the bill should have been submitted.

    “The National Assembly will be back on January 16 from their recess so on or before January 23, the bill must have been transmitted.

    “We know that the National Assembly is desirous of making sure that workers in Nigeria have decent wage and so, they will also be able to do the needful.

    “We will shift our lobby to the National Assembly because once the bill is enacted, the money will be in the pocket of the workers.”

  • 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.

    Read Also: Minimum wage: NLC wants Buhari to communicate approval to NASS

    “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

     

     

  • ‘Governors stalling new minimum wage don’t go to markets’

    Kaduna State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Tuesday chided state governors stalling the implementation of the new national minimum wage, saying their action was self serving.

    “The governors do not patronise markets and therefore ignorant of the suffering of workers and other Nigerians,”

    Adamu Ango, Chairman of the chapter said on Tuesday in Kaduna while addressing a protest over the new minimum wage.

    “Everything about them has been taken care of by the government with huge sums of money.

    “Same people hide under security vote to spend any amount of money without being audited, but for workers to be paid N30,000 they are saying no.

    “If government is truly fighting corruption they should pay a living wage not even minimum wage,” he stressed.

    Ango explained that the protest was summoned by organised labour to sensitize workers on the agitation for a new national minimum wage.

    “Since negation has been concluded, the Federal Government should transmit a bill to the National Assembly (NASS) so that it becomes law.

    “We are not asking for anything, we have made sacrifices enough, we create wealth, but some few individuals are now eating up the wealth and taking us as slaves.”

    Ango told state governors to cut all unnecessary expenses, be judicious and listen to the voice of voiceless.

    He urged workers to stand firm and vote out anybody who is anti labour during the forthcoming general election.

    Also the state Chairman of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Shehu Mohammed said in a message that the new national minimum wage was the constitutional right of workers and not a privilege.

    He therefore advised President Muhammadu Buhari to transmit a bill for the minimum wage to the National Assembly, to avert further confrontation with workers.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mohammad, whose message was delivered by Ibrahim Nda, expressed the belief that state governments would be able to pay the new wage if they end corruption in the system.

  • 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.

    Read Also: Buhari calls for respect for democracy in Gabon

    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.

  • 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.

  • Senate to NLC: shelve minimum wage strike

     

    The Senate on Monday pleaded with Organised Labour to shelve its planned nationwide industrial action over a new minimum wage in the interest of the masses.

    The Upper Chamber said the Nigeria Labour Congress (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, noted the negotiation for a new salary structure is basically for the federal and state governments to conclude since they are to implement resolutions.

    He said the Senate can only intervene if there is serous disagreement that required the input of the legislature.

    He insisted it is obvious Buhari is working round the clock trying to convince states to agree to pay the proposed new minimum wage.

    The committee chairman added that labour unions are Nigerians who could also appreciate the financial state of the states.

    He noted that it is equally evident that “there is no way, a state like Lagos can pay an amount and you expect some other states to pay like Lagos.”

    The Katsina South lawmaker added: “President Buhari has been a salary earner and he knows how the workers feel and I am sure he would be on the sides of the workers.”

    He noted that what is needed is harmonisation and understanding on both sides to reach a middle ground.

    On the transmission of a new minimum wage bill to the National Assembly for passage into law, Ibrahim said that it should not lead to strike since the federal government can transmit the agreement “but must carry the states along.”

    He noted the federal government cannot act unilaterally especially if states refused to go along with the federal government on what to pay.

    He said: “The federal government can pay but how many of the states can pay? Will the federal government continue to assist the states to pay the N30, 000?

    “Even if the agreement is transmitted, it has to pass through the committee and the committee would work on it and follow all the processes before the Senate can finally decide and pass the law.”