With the deadline unmet, the NLC President had said the Tuesday strike
had become imminent despite a federal government offer for a resolution
meeting schedule for January 8.
Following Nigerian Labour Congress’ (NLC) threat to call out
workers on indefinite strike on Tuesday to protest non-implementation of
the N30,000 minimum wage recommended by the Tripartite Committee on
National Minimum Wage, the presidency has moved to pacify the workers,
appealing to them to tarry a while on their planned action.
The NLC had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to submit the N30,000
minimum wage implementation bill to the National Assembly for passage by
December 31 last year or face a nationwide strike action.
With the deadline unmet, the NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, had
said the Tuesday strike had become imminent despite a federal government
offer for a resolution meeting schedule for January 8.
Authoritative presidency sources, however, told THISDAY Wednesday
that the president is making efforts to resolve the wage dispute, which
threatens to further obstruct the nation’s fragile economy should the
strike hold.
State governors under the auspices of Nigerian Governors Forum had
objected to N30,000 as the baseline wage bill for the federation on the
grounds that most of the states could not afford it.
Offering N22,500, the governors said anything more would send most of the states into insolvency.
But labour disagreed, contending that N30,000 was a compromised figured, which if diligently pursued would be realisable.
Buhari, according to THISDAY sources, had intervened, asking the
governors to reconsider their stand and find ways of acceding to the
workers’ demand.
“The president met with the representatives of the governors
and appealed to them to plug areas of waste as a way of securing the
funds to meet the workers’ demand,” a source told THISDAY.
He said the governors had agreed to heed the advice of the
president and had gone back to evaluate their finances, adding that what
was needed was some more time for the governors to report progress to
the president.
“Certainly, the governors need to come back to the president
with their revised position before he could proceed to the National
Assembly with an implementation bill,” another presidency source told THISDAY.
Stating that time, though now a scarce commodity, was what was
needed to resolve the logjam, he explained that even if the president
was minded to proceed to the National Assembly with the bill as
requested by labour, the federal legislators had been on Christmas
break, adding that there was no way the NLC’s demand could have been
met.
“The National Assembly had been on break. And so, even if the
president is to overrule the governors on this, there is no way the
National Assembly can reconvene before the Friday deadline given by
labour,” he said.
Wabba had called on the federal government wednesday to urgently
transmit the bill on the new national minimum wage to the National
Assembly for a speedy passage.
He said, “It is unfortunate that the federal government is yet
to transmit to the National Assembly an executive bill for the enactment
of N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.“Government’s dilly-dallying on the issue has strained
government-labour relations with a potential for a major national
strike, which could just be days away.“I want to appeal to the government to do the needful by
urgently transmitting the bill on the new national minimum wage to the
National Assembly.“We also would like to use this same opportunity to urge
workers to fully mobilise for a prolonged national strike and enforce
their right.”
Explaining that the strike would become inevitable as the last
option for labour, the NLC president called on all Nigerians and
businesses to understand and support it.
He, however, assured workers that their labour, patience and diligence would not be in vain.
Wabba said the NLC leadership remains committed to giving all it
takes to ensure workers get just and fair wages in a decent work
environment appropriate to their well-being.
He added that the NLC leadership is similarly committed to social protection for workers.
According to him, “The new year presents great opportunities
for workers, pensioners, civil society allies and their friends and
families to put their numbers to good use.“This is by voting out, not on the basis of tribe or religion but purely policy, any candidate that cannot serve their interest.“In the year that is ahead of us, the NLC remains unequivocally
committed to the national and workers’ goals which include the campaign
for industrialisation, against selective enforcement of “No Work, No
Pay” policy of government, among others.”
The N30,000 new minimum wage, which was a compromise figure arrived
at by the Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee comprised of the government
(federal and states), organised private sector and the organised public
sector was contained in the report forwarded to President Muhammadu
Buhari. Labour had initially proposed N66, 500, while the federal
government proposed N24,500 at the negotiation meeting before the
N30,000 was adopted.
However, wednesday the federal government said it would meet with the union on Friday.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said
government had invited executives of the organised labour for a meeting
at the Conference Hall of the ministry.
General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Dr. Peter
Ozo-Eson, said the labour had received letter from the labour ministry
for a meeting on Friday.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has
issued a notice to all its structures and organs to commence
mobilisation for mass action against the federal government, the
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the Academic Staff
Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
This was contained in a statement signed by the association’s president, Danielson Akpan.
The ASUU commenced a nationwide strike on November 4 after the
lecturers accused the federal government of not implementing previous
agreements.
The association had earlier issued an ultimatum of two weeks to the
federal government, ASUU and ASUP on December 23, to call off the
strike or face confrontation.
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