NLC urges FG to engage stakeholders on wage review

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to engage the relevant stakeholders on it proposed wage review for certain agencies.

Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, NLC General Secretary said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had recently said that government was considering increasing workers’ wages especially on bonuses of certain government agencies instead of increasing wage across board.

Ozo-Eson called on Nigerians workers not to be confused between a general wage review and a minimum wage review.

“The issue of a wage review is a matter for collective bargaining and it is not a matter that is tied to the minimum wage.

“Therefore, if government has ideas as to how to review wages of its employees generally, then it should use the auspices of the framework of collective bargaining in the sector to do that discussion.

“And in the case of the public sector, the Joint Negotiating Council is the appropriate negotiating body.

“And government should engage them through collective bargaining discussions in order to agree on what is the framework of review of wages. I think these two things needs to be separated, ‘’ he said.

Ozo-Eson, however, noted that the minimum wage review was a legal matter and was through a promulgation or amendment to a law.

He said that the minimum wage sets the floor for the lowest wage for which all employees of a given number of workers must abide to.

He said that what he understood about the Vice President speech was that rather than a general wage review, government was considering granting enhance remuneration to specific agencies.

He said this was in order to using bonuses for those specific agencies to promote productivity in that regard.