Minimum Wage: NLC rejects N27,000, to engage NASS on Monday

News Agency Of Nigeria

January 25, 2019 9:55 PM

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its readiness toengage the National Assembly on Monday regarding the N30,000 new national minimum wage as agreed by the Tripartite Committee on the issue.

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The Congress also rejected N27,000 minimum wage approved by the National Council of State.

The NLC President ,Mr Ayuba Wabba, made the unions position known at the end of the Congress Central Working (CWC) meeting held on Friday in Abuja.

The National Council of State on Tuesday approved N27,000 as new national minimum wage for state workers and N30,000 for Federal Government employees.

The Executive arm of government subsequently forwarded the National Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly which immediately began work on it.

The bill passed second reading at both chambers of the assembly on Thursday.

According to Wabba, the meeting reviewed the whole situation, including the fact that N30,000 was agreed at the tripartite negotiating meeting to be the minimum wage.

It was out of place and procedure for that figure to be reduced to N27,000.

Going by the convention of the International Labour Organisation the figure that was agreed by the tripartite committee cannot be changed by any of the parties except through a process.

Government as an employer cannot unilaterally change the figure. This is about law and procedure.

Therefore, the CWC has frowned on that and rejected the issue of reducing the figure. We still maintain that we stand on the outcome of the tripartite committee.

We will mobilse our members and engage the National Assembly on the issue. The negotiation must be respected and NASS should do the needful. We have put our members on the alert if that is not done.

Certainly, we will also mobilise to take appropriate action that is desirable to protect and ensure that the tripartite process be respected, he said.

He noted that this had been the process in line with the provision of International Labour Organisation(ILO) Convention on minimum wage mechanism.

He said CWC resolved that on Monday the Congress would mobilise to the House of Representatives during the public hearing on the bill to make sure that the right thing was done.

Wabba added that the NASS represented the people and called on the members to respect the outcome of the tripartite process.

Importantly, when you look at N30,000, its a compromised position in the context of todays economy of Nigeria. We should be commended.

As far back as 2011, the N18,000 minimum wage was equivalent to 150 dollars, today, the N30,000 is less than 100 dollars.

We juxtapose this argument within the content of reality and demand that what was mutually agreed after all other factors have been put into consideration, including the ability to pay, must be respected, he added.

News Agency Of Nigeria