Allow states to fix Senators, Reps, state houses assembly, govs’ salaries ― Labour challenges NASS members

The Organized Labour on Wednesday challenged members of the National Assembly to lead by example and allow their salaries and all allowances fix by their respective states based on the capacity of each state to pay, rather than their centralized salary structure as fixed by the National Income, Wages and Salaries Commission (NIWSC).

President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Comrade Olaleye Quadri, who was speaking when the organised labour led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the TUC stormed the National Assembly to protest the ploy to remove the issue of National Minimum Wage from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.

Comrade Olaleye stated that since each member of the Senate and House of Representatives represented their states in the National Assembly, they should also amend the law to ensure that their salaries are equally fixed by their states, rather than the federal government.

According to him, this should also be extended to the state governors, and wonder why the governors in all the states of the federation are on the same salaries when indeed, the capacity of their states to pay are not the same.

Besides, he stated that all the members of state houses of assembly, to the political office holders at the local governments should also have their salaries fixed by the state, and paid according to the capacity of each state.

“I urge the National Assembly to lead by example by making the decision to receive their salaries from their respective local government area councils. I can’t explain while all the senators and members of House of Representatives, the political office holders in the states from the governor, who is the chief execute of his state to the members of state houses of assembly and the local government councillors have their salaries centralized and collect the same salary irrespective of the state, and you said there cannot be national minimum standard as envisage by the National Minimum Wage, across the states of the federation.”

He added that if the members of the National Assembly are sincere, they should lead the way and ensure that governors, state houses of assembly members, councillor and other political office holders have their salaries fixed by states.

During the protest, the labour leadership officially delivered a document containing workers’ demands to the leadership of the National Assembly.

While delivering the document to representatives of the Senate President and Speaker of House of Representatives, they warned the lawmakers that failure to do the right thing would lead to a total shut down of the nation’s economy.

Receiving the document on behalf of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, the House Leader, Alahassan Ado Doguwa, advised the protesting workers to lobby their respective legislators to kill the bill they were agitating against.

He said: “The presentation and recommendation of the bill was only an opinion and a proposal but from what I am seeing now it appears to me that the leadership and organised labour are against the bill and you have your rights and reasons to reject that bill.

“We will still invite you to the relevant committee of which I am a member, the constitution review committee, to come and make your position formally and members representing your respective communities will be on the ground to do justice to that bill.

“I can understand that the only thing you want is to kill that bill, then I will like to advise you to go ahead and lobby the members that you elected, tell them you don’t like that bill and your elected members will stand for you.”

The Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Sen. Abdullahi Sabi, who received the document on behalf of the Senate President, Sen. Ahmed Lawan, also appealed to the workers to have confidence in the lawmakers whom he said would do everything possible to ensure workers rights and demands were respected.

According to him, “denying you minimum wage is something I personally as a senator do not support but we are in a democracy which is about a process. You have read your point, you are standing tenaciously to ask for what is your right but I want to assure you there are a lot of progressive lawmakers in the 9th Assembly.

“In the past, we have stood toe to toe with Nigerian workers, there is nothing that suggests we are changing from that direction, rather, we will stand by you to ensure that the fundamental right of every worker is not only ensured but enforced and guaranteed.

“We are going to ensure that we are going to do justice to everything you have brought to us, wait to see the action.”

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