Organized labour has commenced mobilization of workers in 15 states of
the federation for a strike to press home demand for the
full implementation of the new minimum wage of N30,000.
The states, according to labour sources, are yet to demonstrate enough commitment in keying into the new dispensation.
The bone of contention in most of the states is the consequential adjustment of the new salary structure.
Sources said labour leaders had been placed on standby for an industrial action.
The states were given up till on Friday to conclude negotiation on the matter.
But The
Nation gathered last night that many of the affected states were making
frantic efforts to avert a showdown with workers.
The states
are: Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Cross River, Zamfara, Gombe,
Taraba, Niger, Plateau, Kogi, Kwara, and Nasarawa.
Some of the governors started negotiations a few days before the original deadline of December 31, 2019 set by labour.
But
when it dawned on labour that some of the states had not gone far in
their negotiation with their members, a grace period of one month was
given to the governors by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to wrap up
negotiations.
Although, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State
started paying the new minimum wage, especially for the low cadre of
workers last October, negotiation with labour on consequential
adjustment for other categories of workers is still on.
Secretary-General
of TUC, Comrade Musa-Lawal Ozigi, in an interview, said on Friday that
the union was expecting feedback from all the states on the
implementation of the minimum wage.
Ozigi said state council chairmen of the TUC would turn in their reports tomorrow.
According
to him, the National Administrative Council (NAC) led by its
President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, would meet any moment from now to
assess compliance by state governors.
He said the NAC would then decide the next line of action after the review of reports from its state councils.
The
secretary-general said the union was ready for “recalcitrant governors”
who fail to implement the new wage for workers in their states.
Ozigi
said: “We gave them (state governors) January 31 to implement and so
far, we are compiling our results. Anytime from now, the NEC will meet
to decide what to do with each of the states that has not complied.
“The
January 31 was a grace period for them (state governors) to have done
that (implement the minimum wage) and they have not done it. Those ones
that have not done it, the NAC is meeting to decide what to do in each
of those states.
“Already, all our state council members have
been put on notice. Having done the assessment by the NAC meeting, of
course any action can be taken in any of the states that is still
faulting.
“The President of the TUC and the council (NAC) will meet to take that decision but we are still working on it.
“All
we want to do is to get feedback from all the states. We are waiting
for all the states to get the report by tomorrow then NAC will meet to
take the next decision.
“All the state councils are on alert, waiting for direction from the NAC headed by the president.”
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba, could not be reached for comments yesterday.
However,
an NLC source said that the union has fixed its own NAC meeting for
Tuesday,February 4, 2020 in Abuja where a final decision on the
implementation of the minimum wage will be taken.
The highly
placed source said state council chairmen of the NLC had been placed on
alert ahead of the final decision of the NAC.
The source said
the NLC will use the meeting to “firm up a line of action on what to be
done to recalcitrant governors who are yet to begin payment of the new
wage.”
The source also said that affiliate unions in the states
had been mobilized to ensure that the proposed strike was total and
effective.
Mixed feelings in Ebonyi State
Civil servants in Ebonyi State have mixed feelings over the payment of N30,000 new minimum wage by the state government.
Many
of them already earning over N30,000 are disappointed that the
adjustments to their salaries are far below their expectations.
A
civil servant in the state who pleaded for anonymity described the
increase in his salary as a drop in the ocean and not a living wage.
He said, “they said it is a minimum wage, but to us, it is not. It is just a little increment.”
Information
and State Orientation Commissioner, Orji Uchenna Orji, had told
newsmen in Abakaliki that the payment was in accordance with the
agreement reached with the NLC.
But efforts to contact the state
NLC chairman, Comrade Leonard Nkah, for comment were unsuccessful as at
the time of filing this report.
Anambra pledges to meet new deadline
Anambra
State Information and Public Enlightenment Commissioner Don Adinuba,
said the state was still negotiating with organized labour.
According to him, adequate funds have been set aside to start immediate implementation once negotiation is concluded.
Adinuba
said: “We have stated officially that we are ready to start paying from
January. You know we are still negotiating with the workers’ union. We
just came back from Christmas and New Year holidays. So, we are still
negotiating, but we are ready to start paying from January. We have
provided enough funds to start payment from January.”
Commenting
on the matter, the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the
state, Jerry Nnubia, confirmed that negotiation was still ongoing. He
said that the committee was only waiting for Governor Willie Obiano, to
return from his trip so that it could wrap up the negotiation.
Government, labour also still negotiating in Osun
Osun
State Finance Commissioner Bola Oyebamiji said that a negotiation
committee had been put in place to work out payment modalities.
He added that as soon as the committee concluded its assignment, government’s position on the new wage would be made public.
“Osun
State government has not had any difficulty in paying the old minimum
wage. Rather, it has been paying as and when due. Salaries are being
paid promptly without any problem,” Oyebamiji said.
“The new
minimum wage is a law that government must obey. However, we have a
joint negotiation committee that would decide on the modalities for
payment. Once the committee concludes its assignment, the government’s
position on the new wage will be made public.”
A civil servant
who spoke on the condition of anonymity, however, said that
implementation of the new minimum wage in the state was akin to putting
the cart before the horse.
He said government should first
promote workers who ought to have been elevated over the years
and complete payment of salary arrears before talking about the new
minimum wage.
“If a worker has been on level 9 for years and has
qualified for promotion, the new minimum wage will still reflect the
level 9 and this will be cheating. So, it is better for the government
to first of all approve promotions before we start talking about new
minimum wage, which has to reflect the promotion,” he said.
Consequential salary adjustments causing ripples in Oyo
The
main problem in Oyo State is the consequential adjustment of the
salaries of those earning above N30,000 before the new national minimum
wage came into being.
It was gathered that the minimum wage
committee held its third meeting recently, but the parties failed to
reach a compromise on the consequential adjustments across board for
workers.
Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Olusola
Ogundiran, who also chairs the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council
(JNC) in the state, said: “Negotiation is still ongoing. We are working
out the percentages for the consequential adjustments and we are sure
the committee will conclude its sittings as soon as possible.
“But
I must state that there is nothing we are negotiating about the
national minimum wage because it has already become a law. Any state
that refuses to pay the N30,000 minimum wage will have to contend with
the labour movement.”
Ogundiran stated that if the National
Minimum Wage Act increased the minimum wage in Oyo State from N18,000 to
N30,000, the workers on Grade Level Seven that are probably receiving
N31,000, should also have their salaries adjusted consequentially,
saying: “He should not still be on the N31,000 salary any longer.”
Efforts
to get comments from Adeosun, chairman of the committee, and
Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinola Ojo, as well as the Chairman of
Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Bayo Titilola-Sodo, did not yield
positive results as they could not be reached as at the time of filing
this report.
Bayelsa government, labour union reach agreement
The Bayelsa State government and labour have reached an agreement on the payment of the new minimum wage.
Consequently,
Governor Henry Seriake Dickson has ordered payment of the N30,000
minimum wage to workers in the state with effect from this last month.
Dickson
directed the state’s financial team to follow through the template set
by the National Wages and Income Commission in implementing the new
salary level.
He said: “I gave you people a commitment that we
are not (in principle) opposed to the payment of the N30,000 new
national minimum wage. Today, I have made good that promise.
“Under
normal circumstances, there is nothing we pay our hard working
employees that should be considered too much. I cannot thank you enough
for the support, cooperation, understanding and patriotism you displayed
to my administration in the past eight years, particularly during the
period of the economic recession. My expectation is that the organized
labour will extend this understanding and cooperation to the incoming
government.”
The State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress,
Comrade John Ndiomu and his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Mr Layi
Julius, commended Dickson for the decision of the government to pay the
new minimum wage.
Niger set to pay minimum wage, may defer action on consequential adjustments
Niger State
Finance Commissioner Zakari Abubakar, said in Minna recently
that government had made provision for the payment of N30,000 minimum
wage to civil servants in the state in the 2020 budget.
He said
the implementation of the minimum wage would commence once the fiscal
estimate was passed by the House of Assembly and assented to by the
governor.
He, however, declined to be categorical when the minimum wage payment would commence.
He merely said: “this is the 2020 budget; everything in the budget will be implemented in 2020.
“We are already paying N22,500, what we need now is N7,500.We have taken care of that in the budget”.
Governor Abubakar
Sani Bello separately told the 25 local government chairmen and other
party stakeholders who paid him a solidarity visit in Minna that the
state government would commence the payment of the new national minimum
wage last month.
Governor Bello said that a committee had been
set up on the matter and that considerable progress had been made in the
ongoing negotiation to begin the implementation of the new minimum
wage.
According to him, those that are not directly affected by
the N30, 000 minimum wage would be taken care of in the next phase which
is the consequential adjustment.
Organized labour in the state
had threatened the state government with an industrial action over the
delay in the implementation of the minimum wage.
Rising from it
emergency State Executive Council (SEC) meeting in Minna on the 10th of
January, the labour union handed a 21-day ultimatum to the state
government to pay the 30,000 new minimum wage or face an indefinite
strike.
Minimum wage implementation done deal in Gombe – Finance Commissioner
Gombe
State Finance Commissioner Muhammad Gambo Magaji called the
implementation of the new national minimum wage as a done deal in the
state.
”It is a responsibility of the government to pay salaries
and ensure workers’ welfare. We will not run away from that
responsibility,” Magaji said in Gombe while briefing reporters on the
state’s 2020 budget breakdown
Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya was
quoted in a statement issued by his senior media aide, Ismaila Uba
Misilli that his administration would continue to deepen the existing
industrial harmony and cordial relationship with workers in the state
with a view to improving productivity and ensuring good governance.
Nigeria
Labour Congress President Ayuba Wabba, speaking at the opening session
of the 2020 Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council Meeting
(JNPSNC), in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, recently described governors foot
dragging on the payment of the new minimum wage as recalcitrant and
black sheep.
Wabba, who was represented by the NLC Chairman,
Bayelsa State, Bipre Ndiomu, commended the Federal Government for
ensuring swift and seamless implementation.
He said: ”We cannot
say the same for some state governments, which have refused to negotiate
with workers at the state levels for consequential adjustments in
salaries and payment of the new national minimum wage.
“In fact, a
few states are yet to even set up negotiating committees for the
consequential salary adjustments. This is completely unacceptable to
workers. We can assure the handful of the recalcitrant state governors
that the leadership of the organized labour is keenly monitoring the
development in their states and we would soon prove that we mean
business with our last ultimatum on this matter.
“We do not need
to keep reminding the black sheep state governments that the payment of
the new minimum wage is backed with the force of the law. There is no
denying it. There is no escaping it. You must pay and when you pay you
must pay in arrears.
“As for the consequential adjustments in
salaries, we will resist any attempt by any state government to
unilaterally award stipends to workers. Just as the example had been set
by the Federal Government, the consequential adjustments in salaries
must be a product of tripartism, social dialogue and negotiations.”
The new wage bill was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2019.
The
Federal Government and organized labour agreed on consequential
adjustments on October 18, 2019, after a lengthy negotiation.