joan.nwagwu

<h1>The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday commended the House of Representatives for adopting N30, 000 as the new National Minimum Wage and the quick passage of the bill.</h1>

Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja, while reacting to the passage of the National Minimum Wage bill by the House of Representatives.

NAN reports that the National Council of State had on January 23, approved N27, 000 as minimum wage for federal, states and the organised private sector.

NAN also reports that the NLC had rejected the N27, 000 minimum wage approved by the Council of State, maintaining that N30, 000 was the figure agreed at the tripartite negotiating meeting as the new minimum wage.

Stakeholders had on Monday engaged the National Assembly at a public hearing to press home their demand of N30, 000 as the new national wage as agreed by the Tripartite Committee.

According to Wabba, the passage confirms the wishes of the people and even the social partners.

"Because during the public hearing, organised private sector confirmed that N30, 000 was mutually agreed, and also all other sectors came in and said that it was N30, 000 that was mutually agreed.

"So, clearly speaking, I think what happened at the National Assembly is just to uphold the wishes of the people and the Tripartite Committee, and also centrally to recognise workers contributions to national development.

"We also plead with the Senate to follow the same path, so that it can be assented to and workers could begin to benefit from it.

"I want to say that in this battle for the new national minimum wage, all of us are winners, nobody is a loser because really the centrality is what matter most," he said.

Also, Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, NLC General Secretary, said the lawmakers had done what the Nigerian people expect from them.

He said in spite of efforts to support the position of the governors, it was clear from the public hearing that all stakeholders in the minimum wage wanted to be honorable.

According to him, at the public hearing on Monday, it was clear that all the major stakeholders wanted to be honourable by aligning with what was agreed through negotiation at the tripartite committee level.

"We as organised labour maintained this position along with the Organised Private Sector, even the Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs said at the public hearing that they were part of the agreement.

"However, it is the National Assembly that makes law, and the House of Representatives had demonstrated that; so, we are happy.

"There is this aspect, which we are not comfortable with, which is the exclusion of those employers who have less than 25 in their employment. We think that is already being abused," he said.

He added that for instance a situation where secondary schools whose teachers are being paid less than a minimum wage, they will just organise a pay roll and ensure that they are not up to the number captured by the law.

"There are some law chambers paying young lawyers N10, 000, which cannot even pay their transportation and they are hiding under the guise of not being captured by the law," Ozo-Eson said.

He, however, commended the House of Representatives and also urged the Senate to quickly do the needful by aligning with the House of Representatives on the matter.

Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja, while reacting to the passage of the National Minimum Wage bill by the House of Representatives.

N30,000 Minimum Wage: NLC lauds House of Rep., urges Senate to align

<h1>The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened that it would sanction some university Vice-Chancellors who may have been uncooperative in the ongoing strike by the lecturers.</h1>

Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU President, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

NAN reports that ASUU had commenced an indefinite strike on Nov. 5, 2018, demanding for increased funding of the university education by the Federal Government.

Ogunyemi was reacting to the allegation that some vice-chancellors have been intimidating lecturers in their institution and have ordered them back to the classroom, while some have reportedly commenced examinations.

According to him, the union may be preparing for a confrontation with some of the vice-chancellors that have defaulted and failed to cooperate.

"The attitude of some of these vice-chancellors is worrisome; the union will be prepared to engage such vice-chancellor when the ongoing strike is suspended or called off," he said.

He expressed regret over some members of the union, who choose to betray their conscience by opting out of the strike.

He added that such members who may be aggrieved ought to take opportunity of available internal mechanism for resolving such crisis, saying that the union will address the issues at the appropriate time.

Ogunyemi, however, noted that there are reasons some members may have opted out of the action in some campuses.

According to him, some vice-chancellors are uncooperative even though they will benefit in the university system what ASUU is agitating for.

"In some places, some of them will misapply the fund. That is why there will continue to be crisis, so when we go back, we are going to engage many of the vice-chancellors.

"Like in some state universities, their governors are playing the ostrich, pretending to be funding their universities.

"Today, we call many state universities TETFund universities because the bulk of their capital projects in the last ten years came from TETFund support and lately, the NEEDS assessment grant.

"Governors, who own such universities, will be giving their vice-chancellors directive to go and open the universities.

"They are just not being sincere to themselves because they are actually not doing what is expected of them.

"Another reason is because some of our members are aggrieved for reasons best known to them. Some have threatened to pull out of ASUU and go their own way.

"When you take it on the balance, you find out that within their inner self, they are not opposed to what we are asking for because the Earned Academic Allowances will go to them, revitalisation fund and the salary shortfall, it will be refunded to them," he said.

According to him, at the end of the day, it is a matter of conscience. Some of our members are, like you find in any group, those who betray their conscience. We cannot stop them because they are exercising their right.

"But for those who pretend to be with us and are not with us, we will take them through our process at the appropriate time because every organisation has its own disciplinary mechanism," he said.

Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU President, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Strike: ASUU threatens to sanction uncooperative Vice-Chancellors

NLC rejects N27,000 minimum wage By Joan Nwagwu Rejection Abuja, Jan. 22, 2019 (NAN) The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the N27,000 new National Minimum Wage adopted by the National Council of States on Tuesday. Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, the NLC General Secretary, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja. According to him, the council has no jurisdiction determining another amount after a Tripartite Committee has submitted its report. It is abysmal of gover...

NLC rejects N27,000 minimum wage

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joan.nwagwu

Articles written by the author

N30,000 Minimum Wage: NLC lauds House of Rep., urges Senate to align

Strike: ASUU threatens to sanction uncooperative Vice-Chancellors

NLC rejects N27,000 minimum wage

NLC rejects N27,000 minimum wage