NLC, TUC demand immediate implementation of N56,000 minimum wage

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have demanded immediate implementation of the N56,000 national minimum wage  presented to the Federal Government during the last year May Day celebration; saying that it would not entertain any further delay in the process.

The May Day message where the demand was made was read after the disruption of the May Day rally held at the Eagles Square, Abuja, on Monday, by the workers, who were angry with the government over the delay in the implementation of the new minimum wage and general poor economic condition of the people.

While the NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, presented his May Day address after the workers protest against top government officials, which included the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki, Speaker House of Reps, Yakubu Dogara and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, who all left the event during the protest, the TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, presented his speech before the crisis started.

The protest began shortly after Comrade Kaigama read his speech and the representative of Minister of Labour was called to made his speech, since the minister himself was representing President Muhammadu Buhari.

The workers thereafter went berserk and refused to allowed any government official to speak, include  the former NLC President and Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. All the government officials and invited dignitaries left during the protest that lasted for about one and half hours.

Comrade Wabba, however, spoke on the struggle for a new minimum wage since the NLC and the TUC jointly submitted the N56,000 demand to the Federal Government even before May Day last year.

He, therefore, demanded for immediate composition of the tripartite minimum wage negotiating committee with a time lag, to submit a new minimum wage.

The NLC president said: “One of the things that were expected to come out of the palliative committee was a technical committee that would prepare the preliminaries for setting up of a tripartite committee to negotiate a New National Minimum Wage.

“Comrades will recall that the NLC and our TUC counterpart had submitted a written demand for N56,000.00 new minimum wage in 2016, even before the May increase in fuel prices which had triggered huge increases in cost of transportation and the attendant spiral increases in costs of most consumer items and services across the value chains.

“The technical committee has recently submitted its report to government, and we call on government without any further delay to constitute the tripartite minimum wage negotiating committee with a time lag, to submit a new minimum wage for the Nigerian workers.

“As we had mentioned in many of our recent public presentations, for the on-going fight against corruption to be won on a sustainable basis, civil servants must be paid appropriate wages.

“While not making excuses for those engaged in corrupt practices or the corruption pandemic in our system, the truth however is that where the monthly wage of a worker is as low as N18,000.00 under the current economic situation, workers with the least inclination to steal public funds become vulnerable. Therefore our campaign for a living wage is one of the best insurance against corruption in the public service.”

On the state of the economy, he said: “As workers in this Eagle Square and in the various venues around the country where this May Day is being commemorated today know so well, the immediate consequences of the recession on our economy have included crippling budget short-falls, massive devaluations of the Naira, shortage of foreign currencies, a steep rise in inflation, job losses, non-regular payment of workers and pension entitlements and significant drop in social spending and capital expenditure; all of which have combined to make life very miserable for the majority of our people.”

On the plight of Federal Civil Servants, he said the challenge of non-payment of promotion arrears in Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, which has accumulated into billions of Naira need to be urgently addressed.

Also, of concern is the issue of training and retraining of workers, which is essential in enhancing productivity, he said.

He said: “It is a known fact, that Agriculture can become the main stay of Nigeria’s economy; therefore, the attention given to the sector by the present administration is commendable. We call on the government to implement the long awaited hazards allowance for Agric. and Allied Workers.”

In his own address, the TUC President, Comtade Kaigama stressed the urgent need for negotiation of a new national minimum wage, saying, “it is an understatement to say that the massive devaluation of the Naira has made nonsense of the take home pay of an average Nigerian worker particularly the civil servants.

Most of them are now living below the poverty line as the middle class has been completely wiped out in the country as a result of the high level of inflation. It is worthy of note that the Palliative Committee set up by the Government to fashion out measures to cushion the effect of petrol price increase on the people had concluded its assignment and established the framework for the negotiation of a new National Minimum Wage.

“We therefore appeal to the Federal Government to set up the Committee to do the negotiation so that a new National Minimum Wage for the Country can be arrived at in the next few months.”

On the issue of non-payment of salaries and promotion arrears, Kaigama said: “Fellow Comrades, it is rather pathetic that I have to raise this point again as it has become a recurring decimal. The issue of unpaid entitlements of workers has remained unattended to for some years now, and was indeed brought to the attention of the Federal Government for necessary action.

“It should be noted that the debts owed Federal workers include promotion arrears outstanding in some cases since 2007; 1st 28 days in lieu of hotel accommodation; and Duty Tour Allowance (DTA). Others are mandatory training allowance in 2010, burial expenses, etc.

“The Trade Union Congress wants to use this occasion to appeal to the Federal Government for the umpteenth time to pay these arrears and other allowances owed federal public servants immediately in order to boost their morale and by extension increase the level of productivity in the Public Service.

“Another needless crisis workers are contending with is the delay in payment of salaries by the Federal Government. As I address you, a good number of MDAs including some Unity Colleges nation-wide are still being owed salaries for some months in 2016/17. We urge President Buhari to direct appropriate Agencies of Government to pay the affected workers their hard earned salaries without any further delay to stave off industrial crisis in the affected MDAs.”

He said the long years of negligence and adverse policies of government which has led to the under-utilisation of needed resources to maximum economic benefits is a major reason for unemployment and poverty in Nigeria.

He said: “The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria sees unemployment as a deliberate creation of our politicians. They know that when the youths are engaged they will cease to be willing tools for political thuggery, ballot box snatchers, body guards, etc. Politicians make our youths do what they would not want their children do. They call the youths “future generation” yet they crush their opportunities.

“We are in a recession and yet there is hardly any week billions of naira, British pounds, Euros are not recovered from markets, abandoned houses, toilets, airport, etc. We urge government to invest all the recovered loot in infrastructure, manufacturing and any enterprise that would lead to job creation and economic growth.”