Governors, Legislators Under Fresh Attacks Over Position on Minimum Wage
- The new minimum wage has continued to generate mixed reactions from governors, legislators and others in the polity
- Earlier, the labour union have faulted the action of some governors in the country regarding their position on the new minimum wage
- The Nigerian Governors Forum stated earlier that the agreement between the FG and labour on consequential adjustments on the new minimum wage is not binding on state governments
Feelers from the National Assembly indicate that those who want to deregulate New Minimum Wage are unrelenting and are clandestinely plotting to achieve their selfish desire, despite overwhelming rejection by workers and most Nigerians of the bill sponsored by Garba Datti Muhammed, the All Progressives Congress, APC, Kano).
Vanguard reports that the move by the legislators is to remove the National Minimum Wage from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.
Source: Facebook
The Bill
It would be recalled that the bill had last year passed through the second reading in the House of Representatives before Organised Labour and other concerned Nigerians got wind of it.
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The sponsor among others had claimed it was to allow both the federal and state governments to freely negotiate a minimum wage with their workers in line with our federalism.
Muhammed's position
Muhammed in his lead debate said the bill was necessary due to the controversy that usually trailed the NMW, contending that the proposed legislation was in line with the growing demand for the devolution of power in the country.
He added that it would afford states the opportunity to negotiate directly with labour unions on what they could afford to pay as minimum wage to workers.
Once the move became public on March 10, 2021, organised labour rallied workers, its civil society organisations, CSOs allies and other concerned Nigerians against the bill.
The heat became too much for the legislators that they were forced to stay action on the bill.
Renew plot
However, an investigation revealed that those behind the bill especially state governors, have remained undaunted and have been secretly mobilising support to resurrect the bill and pass it through the backdoor.
NLC warns
Speaking, the president of NLC, said:
“Labour issues are presently domiciled in the second schedule, Legislative Powers, part 1, Exclusive list, Item 34 thus: Labour, including trade unions, industrial relations; conditions, safety and welfare of labour; industrial disputes; prescribing a national minimum wage for the federation or any part thereof; and industrial arbitration.
“For the sake of our national interest, security and industrial harmony, labour should not be one of the items that should be devolved to the states. Perhaps, a brief history of Labour and how it came to be on the Exclusive list may suffice."
Nigeria@61: Another strike looms as workers threaten showdown with APC Governor over minimum wage, deductions
Workers in Ogun state under the umbrella of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council have threatened a showdown with Governor Dapo Abiodun over what they termed “unimpressive” implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by the government and the state organised labour.
The Punch reported that the council secretary, Olusegun Adebiyi, stated this in a letter dated September 23 and addressed to the governor, a copy which was made available to newsmen in Abeokuta on Friday, October 1.
The threat came one year after the MoU was signed between the two parties.
ASUU: FG reacts to fresh strike, accuses union of causing panic
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that amid the lingering industrial dispute between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Chris Ngige has reacted to the fresh ultimatum recently issued by the union.
The minister of labour and employment in an interview with The Punch accused ASUU of causing panic.
According to him, the union always issues strike threats to cause panic among members of the public, which is not fair.
Source: Legit.ng
