Minimum Wage: NLC accuses governors of declaring war against Nigerian workers

NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba

The Nigeria Labour Congress on Monday said the recent declaration by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum that it would not be able to sustain the payment of the N18,000 National Minimum Wage was a declaration of war against Nigerian workers.

NLC President, Ayuba Wabaa, said he was shocked by the statement by the Chairman of the Forum, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara state, that the law enacted in 2011 was no longer sustainable because of the fall in the price of crude oil.

“For the governor to claim that the National Minimum Wage was “imposed”,

we wish to make it abundantly clear that this is a declaration of war against the working people of this country. We would have no alternative than to mobilize to respond to this act of aggression by the political class on our welfare,” Mr. Wabaa said.

The NLC President said the 2011 National Minimum Wage came into existence after almost two years of agitation and eventual negotiation by the tripartite negotiating team comprising government (federal and state), the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association representing other employers (in the private sector) and organized labour.

As organized labour, the NLC said it submitted a request for N52,000 as the minimum wage the least paid worker and his legal dependents needed to live a healthy life for 30 to 31 days in a month.

The NLC, Mr. Wabaa explained, reluctantly agreed to the N18,000 wage out of patriotism, even when it was grossly inadequate as a living wage.

He recalled that most state governments submitted memoranda recommending N18,000, which was eventually agreed.

“The governors cannot therefore want Nigerians to take them seriously by their present claim that the current national minimum wage was “imposed” on them!” Mr. Wabaa said.

Mr. Wabaa said the minimum wage being paid workers was not the problem of the economy, rather the amounts paid to hordes of political office holders and their ‘unproductive’ aides as wages was the crux of the matter

He said the NLC had been in the forefront of campaigns for a drastic cut in the cost of governance at all levels, to free enough resources for development.

“The hundreds of billions of Naira our public office holders continue to fritter away in the name of governance is what is not sustainable,” the NLC president said.

“For instance, the annual cost to the public purse of governors ‘security votes’, which is an unaccountable drain on the public resources, is worth several thousands of minimum wages per state.”

He drew the attention of Nigerians to the fact that in the last six to 10 years, majority of governors no longer use commercial airline regular flights for transportation, preferring ‘official’ aircraft and helicopters, maintained at huge costs to the state treasury.

Besides, the NLC said their less “fortunate” counterparts charter aircraft and helicopters at millions of Naira cost to tax payers to attend all manners of functions, from marriages to child naming ceremonies.

Criticizing the developmental choices by the various state governments, which it said has left the states broke, the NLC said workers’ salaries would not be sacrificed on the altar of challenges of the economy, which was not the making of workers.

“Governors and other political office holders were not elected and/or appointed to only go and share proceeds from crude oil and petroleum products sales monthly in Abuja. Any one putting him or herself out to serve does so on the assumption that he or she has intellect above average to leverage on and provide good and responsive governance to the rest of the populace,” the NLC President stated.

He recalled that in the 60’s when Nigeria did not have oil as the main source of her revenue, government then raised funds through efficient taxes, agricultural produce and other forms of internally generated revenue to provide development and pay living wages to workers.

“Our current crop of leaders who put themselves up for election to high government positions must deliver by paying the working masses their due pay. This is not negotiable,” he said.

He reminded the governors that as early as May 2015, the NLC had given notice that the N18,000 minimum wage was due for review, and that a new proposal would be submitted once the Buhari administration settled down.

With the recent appointment of new ministers and the devaluation of the Naira, with attendant increase in inflation and cost of living, the labour leaders said the NLC would be justified in requesting a review now that it has been five years since the last review.

“With the cost of living being so high, we (NLC) will soon table our New Minimum Wage demand to the federal government. If the recent statement by the Governors Forum is intended to manoeuvre them away from addressing these imperatives, then it is bound to fail as we are ready to do battle to raise the living standard of the Nigerian working people,” Mr. Wabaa said.