Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has insisted that the National Assembly must do the needful by approving the N30, 000 national minimum wage, which is the product of the tripartite committee.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Ayuba Wabba, who briefed newsmen after the Central Working Committee (CWC) of the Congress in Abuja on Friday, said NLC would mobilise its members to the National Assembly on Monday, to urge the lawmakers to respect the negotiation which approved N30, 000 as minimum wage.
Wabba lamented that it was out of place for the agreed figure be reduced by the National Council of State.
“The meeting deliberated on one item which is the issue of the transmission of the national minimum wage bill to the National Assembly. The meeting reviewed the whole situation including the fact that N30, 000 was agreed at the tripartite negotiating meeting to be the minimum wage.
“It was out of place and procedure for that figure to be reduced to N27, 000. Going by the convention of the International Labour Organisation, the figure that was agreed by the tripartite committee cannot be changed by any of the parties except through a process.
Government as an employer cannot unilaterally change the figure.
“This is about law and procedure. Therefore, the CWC has frowned on that and rejected the issue of reducing the figure. We still maintain that we stand on the outcome of the tripartite committee.
“We will mobilise our members and engage the National Assembly on the issue. The negotiation must be respected and NASS should do the needful. We have put our members on the alert that if that is not done, certainly we will also mobilise to take appropriate action that is desirable to protect and ensure that the tripartite process be respected. That has been the process according to the provision of ILO convention on minimum wage mechanism.
“We have also agreed that on Monday, we will mobilise to the House of Representatives during the public hearing on the bill to make sure that the right thing is done. The NASS members represent the people and we call on them to respect the outcome of the tripartite process.
We should be commended. As far back as 2011, the N18, 000 minimum wage was equivalent to $150, today, the N30, 000 is less than $100. We juxtapose this argument within the content of reality and demand that what was mutually agreed after all other factors have been put into consideration, including the ability to pay, must be respected.”
