Labour insists on N30,000 as Minimum Wage
…Says FG lied over agreement on acceptable wage
…Claims Govs Forum not negotiating body
The leadership of Organised Labour has again berated the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) over its stance on the current new Minimum Wage issue, saying the action of the governors amounts to a breach of agreement of the tripartite committee.
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, stated this in during World press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to the leadership of the organised labour, the decision of the Governors Forum should be regarded as a mere pronouncement of Federal Government position on the committee.
Wabba further insisted that N30,000,00 was a product of the tripartite committee after negotiation which the governors were part and parcel of of.
He said, “Each of the six governors represented six geopolitical zone. It is important to note that the National Minimum Wage is not an allocation to workers.
The unilateral pronouncement by the governors of N22,500 minimum wage is an abuse of every known principle of industrial relations as labour law has processes and international best practices.”
The organised labour also faulted the claim of the NGF that the Nigerian workers represent only 5 per cent of the Nigeria’s general populace, stating that such assertion is erroneous.
“We are also very concerned about the huge pressure being brought upon the organised private sector (OPS) to compromise their stance on the N30.000 new minimum wage.
This pressure led to the recent statement by NACCIMA which sought to cast aspersion on an already negotiated new minimum wage,” the NLC president added.
Wabba said that Labour rejects unequivocally the communique issued by the Nigeria Governors Forum on October 30, 2018, saying that the action was an attempt to undermine the authority of the President and should be condemned by all the stakeholders.
The organised labour also stated that the legal step to take is for the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Negotiation Committee to submit the report of the already concluded National minimum wage negotiations to the President for transmission to the National Assembly for necessary consideration and passage into law.
“We wish to reiterate our position adopted by our National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of 23rd October, 2018 that adopted N30,000. Anything else shall not be accepted by us,” Wabba added.
