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Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Nigerian Governors Forum ( NGF) and the Organised Private Sector (OPS), yesterday, disagreed at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives on the new minimum wage.
Speaking at the public hearing, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said about 30 state governors have confirmed readiness to pay N30,000 as minimum wage.
Regardless, NGF Chairman, Abdulraziz Yari, said governors would only pay the N27,000 minimum wage approved by the National Council of State.
This was just as workers, who were present at the public hearing, booed the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige and his counterpart in the Finance Ministry, Zanaib Usman when they made their presentations.
Wabba noted that although Organised Labour had initially demanded N60,500 as minimum wage, the Tripartite Committee agreed on N30,000.
“This document, which we signed and agreed on N30, 000; I want to say all the people were invited there and they signed because, at the end of the day, we came to a negotiating table with different demands. Labour came with N60, 500. But because we wanted to carry everybody along, Labour agreed on N30, 000 and this document was signed and presented to Mr. President…
“N30, 000 translates to N1,000 per day; N30, 000 translates to N50 per meal for every member of the family. If you have a family of six; husband and wife and four children, it translates to N50 per meal.
“We have directed our state chairmen to engage their various state governors; we have been able to discuss with 30 state governors where the governors, themselves, made commitment that they will pay N30, 000.”
But, Yari, who came to the public hearing in the company of the Kebbi State Governor, Senator Atiku Bagudu, in his presentation, noted that state governors would stick to “the numbers discussed and approved at the National Council of State meeting.
“I plead with workers to understand with President (Muhammadu) Buhari because of the situation. I want you to look at Nigeria as our own country. However, we would see how we can go about it.”
On his part, Ngige explained that the Federal Government has already “augmented its own minimum wage to N30,0000, without having to unnecessarily engage the organised labour through another rigorous process of negotiations.” He added that the N30,000 arrived at by the Tripartite Committee was not binding, as “it was just a mere recommendation.”
Earlier, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, while declaring the public hearing open, said the N30, 000 Labour union is insisting on cannot be said to be a living wage and noted that there is need for government to pay serious attention to poverty reduction and corruption.
“While we are not oblivious of the current economic downturn and the dwindling revenue of government, we cannot also be blind to the fact that all economic indices indicate that even the N30,000 minimum wage that Labour is asking for is not enough to sustain a small family unit.
“The nation may not have enough to satisfy the minimum demands of the Nigerian worker, but, as a nation, we need to set our economic priorities right and ensure that we dignify our workers by making allowance for their minimum comfort.
Also, the OPS, a body of employers in the private sector of the economy, have insisted on a new minimum wage of N30,000, as recommended by the Tripartite Committee.
