Workers’ Day: Work conditions now deplorable, security at workplace nightmarish – Labour

…as FG insists all states must comply with National Minimum Wage

…reiterates commitment to inclusive, sustainable devt through decent work

Ukpono Ukpong, Abuja

The Organised Labour has said that despite the global spirited efforts to properly situate decent work in the discourse among the comity of nations, it has been an epic battle between employers and workers, especially in developing countries like Nigeria.

Meanwhile, President Muhamadu Buhari has reiterated his administration’s commitment to prioritizing decent work at workplaces.

He gave the assurance to workers on Saturday at an event to commemorate this year’s International Workers Day in Abuja.

The President, who was represented by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, said that irrespective of the hitches caused by the pandemic, Nigeria is committed to inclusive and sustainable development anchored by the decent work agenda to initiate and maintain economic growth.

“In the world of work, due to appeals by the government to employers of labour, there has not been as much retrenchment not redundancy as was initially anticipated due to the ravages of COVID-19 pandemic.

“We therefore, acknowledge that in securing decent jobs, we are inadvertently promoting social protection and people’s welfare,” the president said
Earlier, the Minister had disclosed that the Federal Government is fully in support and currently working towards ensuring that the National Minimum Wage is retained in the Exclusive legislative List as opposed to the attempt to move it to Concurrent List by a lawmaker.

He also disclosed that any moment from May 1, all Pensioners will start receiving their pension arrears from April 18, 2019.

“I wish to reassure Nigerians that Minimum Wage is the minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or individual contract.

That is one of the reasons. Why National Minimum Wage is listed as item No. 34 in the Exclusive Legislative List.

“Basic or minimum remuneration remains a national affair. Sub-national (states and Local Government) can pay higher but not lower than the nationally established Minimum Wage.

“We moved the National Minimum Wage from N18,000 per month to N30,000. We expect states and the people in the private sector to comply,” he said.

On his part, the President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, while addressing the workers in Abuja, decried the attempts by a section of Nigeria’s ruling class to kill the National Minimum Wage which serves as social protection for low earners by removing it as an item from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List, a move he described as despicable.

He said that Nigeria signed up to the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery Convention 026 in 1928 on June 16, 1961.

Pursuant to this ratification, the National Assembly apart from listing the Minimum Wage in the Exclusive Legislative List, also domesticated ILO Convention 026 in Chapter 2 of Nigeria’s constitution under the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy expressly demanding that Nigerian state shall direct its policy towards ensuring the provision of reasonable national minimum living wage and pensions.

“Article 20 of the ILO Constitution stipulates that any Convention of ILO ratified by any member state shall be binding upon the member state which ratify it.”

Accordingly, he said that quality wages has also been an issue in the face of the rising cost of living, but more especially, the payment of National Minimum Wage

“Work conditions have become increasingly deplorable, security at workplace nightmarish, prospects for self-development almost impossible; wages slavish and rights at workplace, minimal.

“Casualisation which strips the worker of virtually every right or sense of dignity, represents this ugly face.

In Nigeria, the ill-wind of casualisation has coursed through our land to the extent that this evil practice has been transformed into a thriving sector with thousands of labour agency companies competing on who takes the lion share of the modern slave market in the banking sector.

“We use this occasion to call on government and private employers of labour to consolidate the milestone already gained in the current labour law review in order to make casualised labour a thing of the past in Nigeria.”

Speaking on the state of insecurity in the country, he said that it’s obvious that human insecurity as marked by mass unemployment is the main driver for the physical insecurity besieging Nigeria.

“Part of the challenges of unemployment and insecurity is the crisis of poor governance.

Weak budgets that lead to poor appropriations and poorer budgetary oversight is the bane of our development.

He said that to reclaim the country, “we must be serious with security votes.

Security votes should be routed through the normal budgetary process for proper oversight and accountability.

We reiterate our call for improved social protection and investment in social services to deal with human insecurity which is bane of physical insecurity.

Wabba also expressed concerns over the huge debt stock saying, “close to 80 per cent of revenue from the Federation Account goes to the servicing of the debts accumulated by the Federal Government alone, the sordid story is the same in many states in the country”.