Follow Us on Google
•No better time for wage increase than now – NLC
Stories by Bimbola Oyesola, 08033246177
There are strong indications that there may be stormy battle ahead for the Organised Labour in the battle for the actualisation of the N56,000 new Minimum Wage submitted early this year.
Though the Organised Labour has said there’s no better time for the increase in minimum wage than now.
According to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Ayuba Wabba, the increase in pump price last year have actually brought the challenge of low purchasing power, inflation, high cost of good and services as such there is no going back on the demand for the new wage.
The NLC president insisted that N56.000 being demanded by Congress was not out of place because of the high cost of living today.
Wabba however accused the state government of stalling the process so far noting that for the Federal Government it would have been a forgetting issue.
He said: “we have agreed that all process will be articulated which I believe in good faith can say the process of the committee is comprehensive enough so that we don’t have issues along the road and we look forward to having a 26 members committee where the state governors will be represented because they have actually been the problems and relating against the review of the minimum wage.
“The Federal government will have review it without any problems, but we want to carry along the organised private sectors because the essence of the minimum wage is to make sure that the poor of the poorest of workers is protected against exploitation.
“The basic problem that is affecting the minimum wage is implementation at all levels and that is why in the wisdom of parliamentary committee all critical stakeholders will actually be brought to the table together and indeed we have seen the commitment of the government because we told them that time is not on our side and even at the last meeting they now fix the next meeting date which is scheduled for 19th or 21st of April.”
Wabba said both private and public employers in the country, were convinced that the N18.000 national minimum wage was no longer realistic judging from the socio-economic indices on ground today.
He stated that despite apparent opposition by private employers represented by Nigerian Employers Consultative Association, NECA, NLC was sure that stakeholders during negotiations after the inauguration of National Minimum Wage committee, would all support the new wage for workers.
According to him: “We need to be very forthcoming in doing what is right. In other quarters, if you listen very carefully, they are talking about ability to pay. I thought what labour did was to be very calculative. Not only that, to look at the feasibility, because it doesn’t make sense that at the end of the day we will have difficulties. So, we have looked at the totality of the issues, including the challenges we are going through at the moment and we thought that what we have done is reasonable because what we have done is to look at what is the value of N18, 000 when it was signed looking at the inflation, looking at the purchasing power and looking at the ability to pay. So, I think we have been reasonable in making such demand and we hope also that other social partners will look at it from the perspective of us being very nationalistic in putting up those demands.
The NLC President lamented that workers presently cannot feed themselves because of the high cost of goods and services.
“Everybody has the right to his or her opinion, but the opinion of the workers is that it is legitimate both by law and practice. Five years cycle is legitimate and therefore, when we reach the bridge we will know how to cross it”, he said.
He stated further, “Our opinion is also that workers have been pushed to the wall, so, it’s time for the minimum wage to be reviewed both in law and practice because the cycle is due and inflation is biting very hard, high cost of goods and services is affecting workers seriously.
“Many workers cannot send their children to school, many cannot pay their rent, and many cannot even go to work regularly. Side by side with fighting corruption, if you don’t pay me to meet up with my bills we can’t fight corruption. “What is the cost of living that will make me comfortable as a worker for 30 days with my family? All of us can reason and calculate all of that. Workers should not be treated as slaves.”
…As NECA insists private sector cannot afford pay rise now
The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has reiterated the inability of the employers in the private sector to afford any pay rise in the present economic circumstance.
This is even as it urged Stakeholders in the Socio-labour community and players in the Nigerian Industrial Relations’ System to be circumspect in their approach to the heated issue on the review of the National Minimum Wage.
In response to the ability of Employers for a new wage level, against the backdrop of the National economic depression and its attendant devastating effects on Organised Businesses, the Director General of NECA, Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo said that: “the private sector cannot afford a pay increase at this point in time.
He noted that this would be the position the employers will canvass at the National Minimum Wage Committee.
“The priority now should be for all stakeholders to join hands with government to deliver on inclusive growth that will ensure job security and job creation”, he said.
He however said that there was indeed an understanding that the National Minimum Wage would be due for discussion after five years, adding that in effect, the 2011 agreement, ordinarily, should be open for discussion in 2016, hence the clamour for discussions by the NLC and TUC is therefore legitimate.
He stated, “there is a time-tested and enshrined procedure for the discussion of the National Minimum Wage, which entails the setting up of a National Minimum Wage Committee comprising representatives of the Federal Government, led by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, State Governments, usually represented by three State Governors, Employers in the Private Sector under the aegis of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and Organised Labour as represented by NLC and TUC”.
Oshinowo said that the issue of procedure should be separated from the substance or subject, therefore the imperative to respect procedure should take precedence over substance.
He maintained that It is the responsibility of the Committee to sort out the issue of desirability of review or sustenance of status quo in the event that timing for upward review is inappropriate.
On the fear in some quarters that opening discussions on the National Minimum Wage will automatically translate into an unsustainable wage increase, the Director General of NECA debunked such notion, noting that: “the beauty of Collective Bargaining is the opportunity to come to the table with constructive positions and submissions.
The principle of reasonableness and superior arguments has always carried the day. Conclusions at the platform would not necessarily be for or against increase. It would be to examine the need for or against and justifications for whatever positions are canvassed”.
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
