MINIMUM WAGE: Why States Must Comply — Labour

The President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba
Nothing comes easy, were the words of the President
of Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba while
commenting on the raging agitation for a new
minimum wage of N30,000, which has pitched the
organized labour against the federal and state
governments for a while now.

Wabba said the struggle for a of national minimum
wage in Nigeria is never achieved but through
workers’ continous protests and agitations.

According to him, workers have never in history got
any increase in wage on a platter of gold.

He argued that the struggle for a decent wage for
workers shouldn’t be an issue as it is the
responsibility of a concerned government to strive to
improve the welfare of its workers, who are the
creators of the nation’s wealth.

Wabba said while the political office holders have
always enjoyed fat salaries and allowances, the
workers in history have always earn meager salaries.
State governors have however said they could not
pay N30000 minimum wage.

According to them, any attempt to compel payment
of the planned new minimium wage will force the
states into bankruptcy.

But they gave two conditions for payment: “the
revenue formula should be reviewed to give more
money to the states from the Federation Account,
and labour should agree to downsizing of the
workforce.’

Lending voice to the clamour for a new national
minimum wage of N30,000, which the NLC and TUC
have given the present administration till January
23rd to transmit to the national assembly for
legislation, former General Secretary of the Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade John Odah told
Daily Trust that state governors have no rights under
the constitution to reject a negotiated national
minimum wage.

Odah who is the current Executive Secretary of the
Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA)
noted that the minimum wage is under federal
exclusive list and whatever is arrived at is binding on
them as federating states.

Going down memory lane, Odah said minimum wage
right from the first one in civilian dispensation, 1981,
legislated into law by the national assembly was
implemented across the states.

He explained that the state governments complied
because the minimum wage is important as it is
under federal exclusive list.

He said state governors who are claiming that they
are not able to or their states should be allowed to
implement wages on their own are just doing it out of
mischief, saying for one to have risen to the position
of a state governor, he should know what is in the
concurrent  and the federal exclusive list.

He recalled, “Through 1981, after the Sumonu led
NLC embarked on a national strike asking for N300
minimum wage and then president Alhaji Shehu
Shagari eventually settled with the NLC and a bill
was sent to the national assembly where a minimum
wage of N125 was legislated, it was paid across
board in all the states. Even under the military, one of
the things that the NLC under Pascal Bafyau, where
the N125 minimum wage was upgraded to N250, it
was during the time of General Babangida and again
it was paid across board in all the states.

When Oshiomole became NLC president, he was
going round the states to ensure that the then
minimum wage of N3000 which had been approved
by the military under Abdul Salami Abubakar
government was paid. When Obasanjo was elected
president, we got a new national minimum wage of
N5,500, it was implemented across the states.”

Odah said that labour was able to negotiate then
with the oil producing states that receive more money
than their counterparts in other part of the country
to pay N5,700, above the N5,500 national minimum
wage.

“Then in 2011 when the N18, 000 was legislated, it
was across board, so at no time did the states have
to say they would pay a different wages because it is
not their responsibilities. That is why the federal
government negotiating team always includes
representatives of state governments. Six governors
represented the state governments at the current
negotiation that had taken place. So their interest
was taken into consideration and ability to pay had
always been considered by organized labour each
time we go on demand for minimum wage
negotiation.”

He said any state that refuses to pay the minimum
wage of N30,000 is breaking the law of the nation,
just as he described the Nigerian Governors Forum
(NGF) intervention as lawlessness of the highest
order, adding that they lack the constitutional rights
to reject or refuse to pay already negotiated national
minimum wage and that they  (NGF) are unknown to
the law of the land.

He denied the claim in some quarters that when
workers salaries are increased, it will result in hyper
inflation as witnessed during the popular Udoji pay
package of 1975 saying the Udoji package came as
a result of the oil boom.

Following a successful transfer of power to civilian
administration headed by President Olusegun
Obasanjo, the NLC led then by Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole began a fierce demand for a new wage
and there was negotiation between 2000 and 2001.

The demand of N5,500 for state workers and
demand of N7,500 for the federal workers and oil-
producing states workers were agreed to.

At this point, Nigeria tried to follow the norms as
applicable in other civilized parts of the world. There
were provisions that the following year (2002) there
would be a 15 per cent increase across board, and a
25 per cent increase in 2003.

The current N18,000 minimum wage was achieved in
2010 through a well negotiated tripartite structure
under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and signed
into law by the National Assembly with a clear
provisions that there will be constant review of the
national minimum wage every five years.

From the arrangement, the minimum wage was
already due for a review since 2015. This gave rise
to agitations from organized labour in the past three
years which prompted the Buhari administration to
inaugurate the Tripartite Committee on the National
Minimum Wage led by Ms Ama Pepple, a former head
of the civil service of the federation, to negotiate a
desirable wage for Nigeria workers since last year
(2017).

Labour insists that President Muhammadu Buhari
should uphold the N30,000 minimum wage it
proposed and pushed through with the Tripartite
Committee.

The President will need to take the N30,000 proposal
before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the
Council of State before sending a Bill to the National
Assembly for a new minimum wage.

Labour however have given the federal government
uptill January 23rd to transmit the N30,000 national
minimum wage to the National Assembly for
legislation or face a nationwide industrial action.