NLC storms National, State Assemblies, rejects bill to decentralize minimum wage

Nigeria’s workers movement under the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Wednesday made good its threat to storm the National Assembly and all states Houses of Assembly to submit letters protesting against an alleged move to remove the minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent one.

Describing the attempt as wage theft, they vowed to vehemently resist the decentralization saying doing so is “crime against workers and humanity.”

The labour movement insisted that the argument of inability to pay is erroneous, as Governors, State Assembly members and in fact all the public officers nationwide collect humongous amount as salary, including their aides.

The workers warned President Muhammadu Buhari not to be swayed by the fifth columnists, urging him to “stand with Nigerian workers by keeping minimum wage on the exclusive list”.

They also charged members of the National Assembly, described as progressive law makers to rise like in the past to defend workers rights.

The Daily Times gathered that the proposal to move the national minimum wage from the Exclusive list to the Concurrent list is part of items being considered by the joint committee of NASS in the Amendment to the Nigerian 1999 Constitution. Addressing the representatives of the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly, NLC President, Ayuba Wabba said “removing national minimum wage from the Exclusive Legislative list is a declaration of war on Nigerian workers. We will resist it”.

Wabba said issue of national minimum wage is on exclusive list in most democracies globally including the United States of America.

He said, “The bill that seeks to remove the National Minimum Wage from the Exclusive list to the Concurrent list is not acceptable.

The issue of National Minimum is a standard signed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the ILO is the first agency of the United Nations formed in 1919 after the First World War, so it has the powers of the United Nations.

“The National Minimum Wage is not a Nigerian Standard, but International standard. In the countries of the world, over 33 Federating Nations including United States of America have their Minimum Wage in the Exclusive list.

Currently, the Minimum Wage of USA is $10per hour and President Biden has already announced plans to initiate an upward review of the minimum wage to $15per hour. “How can we degenerate to remove the issue that workers have earned through hard labour for forty years overnight?

The problem of Nigeria, we have said in essence, is the issue of good governance. That is why we are here. There are all well documented in the documents that we will present to the leadership of the National Assembly.

“We know that the State Governors collect the same salary across the country. State and National Assemblies collect the same salaries across the country, so as the Counselors.

Why is the case of workers different, if it is the issue of ability to pay? “Governors also collect humongous amount as security votes that has not been used to address security challenges in Nigeria.

If we address this, we will have enough to pay the minimum wage. It’s a national benchmark. If the private sectors can pay, the government has more responsibility to the citizens than the highest private sector.”

On his part, the TUC President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, said that “Leadership by example is the best and if the National Assembly must take that decision, all our Executives should go back to their Local Government to collect their salary according to their Local Government’s revenue generation.”

The protest letters were presented to Deputy Senate Chief Whip, Senator Sabi Abdulllahi and the Leader, House of Representatives, Hon. Ado Doguwa. Addressing the protesting workers, Sen. Abdulllahi promised on the leadership of the Senate that the grievance will be looked into and treated with all urgency and seriousness because it touches on lives of the teeming Nigerian workers.

Kaduna: Members of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest to the Kaduna State House of Assembly, demanding for full implementation of financial autonomy of the judiciary.

The workers, during the protest said if their demands were not met, they will continue to protest and occupy all State Assemblies across the Federation.

State chairman of the organised labour, Comrade Suleiman Ayuba who spoke on behalf of the workers, said the state lawmaker should take the necessary steps to implement financial autonomy for the judiciary as the welfare of their members is tied under the autonomy.

The workers also alleged that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is impeding every effort to implement President Muhammadu Buhari’s Executive Order 10 which was signed last year, to grant autonomy for the judiciary and also improve their welfare. Delta: The Delta State chapters of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria have charged lawmakers to focus on weightier issues of peoples welfare, insecurity, unemployment, roads infrastructure and others.

The NLC Chairman, Mr Goodluck Ofoburuku, gave the charge while addressing the protesting workers and the members of the State House of Assembly on Wednesday in Asaba.

He said that the protest was aimed at stopping the perceived move by the National Assembly to remove the National Minimum Wage from the Exclusive Legislative list to the Concurrent Legislative list by some persons in government.

“While other government in the world are busy legislating on how to make laws that will remove their people from poverty, ours is trying to make everybody poor. “Why are we not making laws to develop our people, improve our workers welfare, create jobs for the teaming unemployed, address insecurity, create health and roads infrastructure and others?

“We are here to stage an appeal with the speaker and members of the House of Assembly to be on the side of the workers and the people and not to support that legislation to remove the minimum wage from the exclusive list to the Concurrent list.

“We have drawn our members from across the state to this place to cry to you to save us from destruction.

“If and when this finds its way to the Delta House of Assembly, do not support it and that the only way we will believe that you are truly representing us.”

Nasarawa: The Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, Nasarawa State chapter on Wednesday joined there counterpart across the country to protest over the removal of the minimum wage from the exclusive list to the concurrent list by the National Assembly.

State chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, Comrade Yusuf Iya and the Trade Union Congress TUC, Comrade Mohammed Doma, called on the Federal Government to embark on programmes aimed at providing sustainable welfare to workers to entrenched industrial harmony in the country.

The workers which came out in their numbers dressed in black attires besieged the state Assembly complex as well as the Government House, Lafia all along Shendam road in the state capital.

Presenting the workers grievances before the Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Iya said workers were shocked over the proposed bill to shift the activities of minimum wage from the main stream “The exclusive list to concurrent list” which according to them they would resist uprightly and make sure it does not see the light of the day.

Taraba: The Taraba State civil servants under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have held a peaceful protest over the implementation of the new Minimum wage.

The protest rally Daily Times learnt commenced from the State Ministry of Works Round-about and terminated at the House of Assembly complex all in Jalingo the state capital.

Addressing the lawmakers, the NLC Chairman, Comrade Peter Jediel said they were at the House to present a letter containing the grievances of Nigeria workers to the legislators.

Jediel said the rally was holding simultaneously across the country as directed by National Secretariat of NLC. He said the essence of the protest rally was to register their displeasure over the plans of the Federal Government in collaboration with some state governors to frustrate the full implementation of the new National Minimum Wage passed into law by the present administration.

Responding, the Chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Education, Hon. John Kizitto Bonzena commended the leadership of Taraba Workers for the peaceful protest rally.

Hon. Bonzena who is representing the people of Zing State Constituency at the State Assembly said the Letter will not only be delivered to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Joseph Albasu Kunini who he said was unavoidable absent, but due attention will be given to it.

Rivers: The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Tuesday joined its counterparts all over the country to protest the bill seeking to remove the minimum wage from the exclusive to the concurrent list.

The state union, lead by Mrs. Beatrice Itubo, submitted the protest letter to the Clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly at the Assembly Complex in Port Harcourt, saying that workers were opposed to the move to remove salaries and wages from the exclusive list to the concurrent.

Submitting the protest letter, Mrs Itubo said that the bill which had passed the first and second readings in the National Assembly was sponsored by some state governors who did not mean well for the workers, adding that it would further impoverish them.

She said: “The implication is that it would be a license for state governors to drag the country to the era which had precipitated multi-ferous industrial crises in different parts of Nigeria.

“The community of the working force would suffer socioeconomic stability and progress and it would lead to the exclusion of the private sector both the organised and unorganised labour.

Yet it is this informal sector that unleash unfair labour practices to its workforce,” she stated. Receiving the report, the Clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr Stanford Ogah received the protest letter on behalf of the Speaker and said that the message would reach the appropriate quarters without delay Lagos: Organised labour in Lagos, joined their counterparts nationwide in a peaceful protest to express their displeasure over plans by the National Assembly to transfer the national minimum wage from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.

The labour centres comprising affiliate members from the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress took to the Lagos State House of Assembly on Wednesday, to submit a letter to the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa.

The letter, signed by the State Council Chairperson, Comrade Gbenga Ekundayo of TUC, stressed that the move is very dire as it seeks to empower state governors with the license to fix wages of workers, one the union described as “ridiculous slave wages which in the past had precipitated multifarious industrial crises in different parts of the country.”

It added that the “concept, rationale and logic for a national minimum wage are to ensure that employees in government and organised private sector, but particularly, the unorganised, the unskilled and the vulnerable in the highly ungoverned space commonly referred to as the informal sector, are included and protected.

“By protection, we mean that the vulnerable are not overly exposed or exploited by their employers who pay wages so miserable they create a community of the working poor.

Implications of creating communities of the working poor are obvious and range from very grave socio-economic and the political dislocations,” it explained. Ebonyi: The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Ebonyi State chapter has said removing the National Minimum Wage from the Exclusive Legislative List is tantamount to declaring war on Nigerian workers.

The state Chairman of the workers, Mr Ikechukwu Nwafor, said this on Wednesday in Abakaliki during a press conference organised in line with the directive of the national leadership of NLC.

Nwafor said that the Bill at the National Assembly (NASS), seeking to remove minimum wage from the exclusive to concurrent list, was unacceptable to workers nationwide.

READ ALSO: Kaduna: NLC urges Lawmakers to implement of financial autonomy of Judiciary

He said that Ebonyi workers were fully in support of the nationwide protest by NLC, adding that NASS should jettison the move. He described the bill as unhealthy for the wellbeing of workers.

“The union is saying that the move to remove the minimum wage from exclusive list is devilish and we cannot accept it. “If you remember, Nigerian workers have enjoyed the minimum wage since 1981, in line with global standard.

“This took years of high struggles and sacrifices by workers to get the first Minimum Wage Act in 1981. “Labour took steps to put the minimum wage in the exclusive list since 1979 and 1999 Constitution and this has given a certain level of protection to workers.

“So, the minimum wage flow, which has granted basic income to the lowest level of workers is what some group wants to write off. This is not good,” Nwafor said.