THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has opposed the call by some politicians for decentralizing minimum wage negotiations allowing states to have different minimum wages.
The negotiation over a new minimum wage has dragged on for months as different stakeholders struggle to find common ground.
While the federal government and the private sector have settled on a new minimum wage of N62,000, organised labour, represented by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), is advocating for N250,000.
Organised labour argues that N62,000 is insufficient for the average worker, considering the significant rise in the cost of goods and services nationwide.
The federal government has expressed concerns over sustaining the proposed N250,000 minimum wage, estimating it would cost around N19 trillion annually.
Meanwhile, the private sector, led by NECA, has voiced its inability to meet the labour unions’ demands currently or shortly, emphasizing the tripartite committee’s focus on job creation.
The negotiations for a new minimum wage have been contentious, resulting in a near-economic crisis with strikes that led to the shutdown of the national grid.
Offering some way out to the issue some politicians including former Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, had earlier emphasized the need for states to conduct wage negotiations with their labour unions independently from the federal government.
Dr Fayemi explained that the position of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, which he once chaired, was that states should be allowed to negotiate with their labour unions separately, as “fingers are not equal.”
Explaining the broader implications of a centralised minimum wage, Dr Fayemi noted that only a small percentage of the population benefits directly from minimum wage negotiations.
However, the NLC opposed the call for decentralising minimum wage negotiations allowing states to have different minimum wages.
In rejecting the idea, the secretary of the NLC in Oyo State, Adebayo Aribatise, expressed concerns, noting that some state governors would bastardise the opportunity and it may also cause a disadvantage for workers.
Instead of decentralisation, the NLC expressed support for the federal government to continue to champion the process while the state governors key into the agreement.
He said, “The fact remains that the law binds states to pay national minimum wage. It is expected that the federal government will continue to set the minimum wage. If not, some governors will continue to do as they like.”
“Some governors will bastardise the agreement if we allow it and junior workers will continue to earn nothing worthwhile,”
Content, excluding headline, courtesy of Intelregion.com
Eighteen-Eleven Media