BREAKING NEWS, Business
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The Nigeria Labour Congress has proposed a minimum wage of N56,000 monthly for workers to the federal government
| By Anayo Ezugwu | May 9, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT |
WITH the increasing rate of inflation in the country and the erosion of purchasing power of the masses, especially workers who has remained on fixed income, the Nigeria Labour Congress is proposing a new minimum wage of N56,000 to the federal government. Ayuba Wabba, president, NLC, told journalists in Abuja, on Wednesday, April 27, that the union made the formal proposal to the federal government on Tuesday, April 26. This proposal is coming at a time the nation is faced with some economic challenges such as dwindling revenue from crude oil sales, making it difficult for both the federal and states governments to pay the current N18,000 minimum wage to civil servants at all level.
But Ayuba said while it was a fact that the economy was in a bad shape, the law made it clear that a review of the minimum wage was overdue. He also said that the economy would not be down for ever. The NLC president said the Nigerian workers had not fared well in the last one year and would not continue to lament the situation.
The union is hoping that the tripartite system will look at the review mechanism that will be put in place. “These are processes, but when we come to the roundtable, we can then see the best way out. But I think it is obvious that since it is a product of law, it is usually required that the tripartite process be put in place so that together we can look at the issues. It is obvious that workers have not fared well in the last one year, but we will not continue to lament. What we try to do is to work out a process of engagement on how those issues can be addressed,” he said.
When asked if the N56,000 minimum wage was reasonable in view of the inability of various employers to pay even the N18,000 minimum wage, Wabba explained that the minimum wage was designed to ensure that workers were not made to earn below what should sustain them. He stressed that the government was expected to make it a matter of policy to review the minimum wage every five years.
He argued that the current minimum wage of N18,000 was negotiated when the naira was exchanging N100 to $1, stressing that the economic situation had drastically affected the purchasing power of the worker.
Wabba said that the federal government must take the issue of the minimum wage seriously if the issue of corruption was to be addressed effectively. He said it would be difficult to fight corruption without taking care of the workers. “The issue of minimum wage is not essentially for now it’s an issue we must take on board, if we want to address the issue of corruption. Without taking proper care of the worker, it is very difficult. That is why I said it’s a process and we are going to dialogue around that process. That is why collective bargaining is important.”
Prior to the action of the NLC, the 36 state governors had on November 19, 2015, said they can no longer pay the N18,000 minimum wage because of the poor state of the economy. The governors under the umbrella of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, said the dwindling prices of oil had drastically affected their states’ income. Specifically, they said that the burden of the wage was lighter when oil sold at $126 as against the current $41 per barrel.
Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State and chairman of the forum, said, “The situation is no longer the same when we were asked to pay N18,000 minimum wage, when oil price was $126 (per barrel) and continued paying N18,000 minimum wage when the oil is $41 and the source of government expenditure is from oil, and we have not seen prospects in the oil industry in the near future.”
There is no doubt that there is a need for a review of the workers’ pay. The contention is whether this is the best time to raise the issue.
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