…SGF hails NLC’s foresight on diversification
By Bimbola Oyesola , [email protected]
The negotiation for a new National Minimum Wage is expected to commence any moment from now and payment commence early next year, according to the Federal Government.
But organised labour has vowed to ensure that states, specifically, Abia, Taraba and Zamfara, would comply with the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 by paying workers in their states the wages as applied all over the federation.
The immediate past president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, said the minimum wage act empowered labour to institute legal proceedings against any defaulting employer.
He said, “Section 11(4) of the Act states that an officer under direction by the Minister of Labour can institute civil proceedings on behalf of a worker denied minimum wage.
“We are already exploring these provisions in enforcing the N30,000 minimum wage in Abia, Taraba and Zamfara states,” he said.
Wabba noted that his administration made a firm commitment to get Nigerian workers a new national minimum wage and that came to pass in 2019.
However, the struggle was not just about increasing the minimum wage but also “improving conditions that guarantee enforcement and sustainability.”
He explained that it is part of the Minimum Wage Act to be reviewed every five years.
“Section 3(4) of the National Minimum Wage Amendment Act (2019) stipulates that every reviewed national minimum wage expires automatically after five years,” he stated.
Wabba also condemned federal government refusal to pay the university workers after nearly one and half years of strike, warning that government must avoid plunging the nation’s tertiary education system into another turmoil.
“Government should quickly release the withheld salaries of university workers who have covered the time lost to the protracted strike action.
“We also demand that the divide and rule tactics of balkanizing unions must be stopped forthwith,” he said.
He also expressed labour position to privatisation and charging of exorbitant school fees, stating that it can exclude a lot of families and children of the less privileged in the society.
On the Congress diversification into business, Wabba at the commissioning of a guest house project named after first NLC President, Hassan Sunmonu, said that unionism is not only about agitations.
He stated that it was the plan of the Congress to have some level of independence hence the reasons for devising different means of generating incomes rather than relying on external funding which at times can mar the union’s struggles.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha at the commissioning said President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is still committed to improving the minimum wage of workers to boost productivity.
Mustapha, who was the special guest of honour, said Buhari-led administration is concerned about improving the welfare of public service and had paid the arrears of retired Airways workers.
Mustapha said the two-storey building was a delight for the NLC and the entire workers, but the achievements and legacies are for the Nigerian people.
”I commend the outgoing NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, for delivering the edifice that will yield additional income to the Congress,” the SGF said.