Organised labour under the auspices of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and United Labour Congress (ULC) on Tuesday made good their plans to stage a nationwide protest tagged, ‘National Day of Mourning and Outrage’.
The protest afforded the workers an opportunity to voice their grievances with the government, with majority of them vowing to vote for the candidate that would implement the new national minimum wage.
Their actions, though peaceful, halted vehicular and business activities around the central business district and the federal secretariat, Abuja, for few hours before they dispersed.
They defied the scorching sun to stage the protest amidst close watch by security personnel.
A good number of them expressed their grievances through placards with inscriptions, ‘No minimum wage, no work from Nov. 6’, ‘Minimum Wage of N30, 000 not negotiable’, ‘Minimum wage will boost Nigerian economy’, ‘Upward review of minimum wage will not trigger inflation’, ‘Ngige and Governors do not own Nigeria, Nigeria belongs to all workers,’ among others.
The protest was mainly against the alleged recalcitrance of government concerning the proposed review of the existing minimum wage of N18, 000, including some proposed anti-labour policies being mooted by the current administration.
Ayuba Wabba, President of the NLC, who led the protest, first took a swipe at the government, accusing the National Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage headed by Ama Pepple of doctoring and bending the facts regarding the wage review in an attempt to delay or derail the process of promulgating a new emolument for workers.
He said leaders of the various unions may fail in guaranteeing industrial harmony in the days ahead unless the Federal Government took necessary steps to ensure the enactment of a new wage Act.
According to Wabba, the new wage benchmark ought to have been effective since 2016, stressing that “the minimum wage Act prescribes a five-yearly cycle of review.”
Buttressing his points, he said owing to the delays associated with the review, the increase in the pump price of petroleum products by over 85 percent and the devaluation of the naira by 100 percent in 2016 have all affected the cost of living.
He said the exchange rate and inflation rose to an all-time high, rendering the N18, 000 unjustifiable as national minimum wage.
“Given the realities of our economic condition, the least any worker should earn is N30, 000,” he said.
Bobboi Bala Kaigama, TUC President, corroborated Wabba, saying the excruciating hardship being faced by workers in the country provides a veritable reason for the implementation of a new wage Act.
Kaigama wrote off state governments’ complaints of their inability to meet the new wage bill, saying they must do the needful as N30,000 was too meagre for them to pay workers monthly.
“They cannot say they do not have money; the political office holders have the money and also the government. We also know how much they are putting into politics and the forthcoming general elections.
“Workers are not slaves but rather they create the wealth of the nation, they cannot continue to suffer. After all, the minimum wage is long overdue,” he said.
Recall that the controversies associated with the wage bill have polarised the federal and a number of state governments, some at a crossroads over how to source funds to meet the wage demand if it comes into effect.
While the organised labour unions insist they cannot go below N30,000 as a minimum benchmark, the Federal Government has offered to pay N24,000, while states are still hanging on to N20,700.
The various unions have also threatened to embark on an indefinite strike from November 6, 2018 in the absence of any genuine commitment from the government to meet their demands.
Meanwhile, the crisis surrounding a new national minimum wage for workers still appears far from being resolved as the organised labour may reject the N22, 500 offer from the state governors.
Governors of the 36 states of the federation met in Abuja on Tuesday night where they resolved to pay N22,500 as new minimum wage to workers.
The decision was sequel to a three-hour meeting of the governors under the auspices of Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
But in a swift reaction indicative that they might decline the offer, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress issued an invitation for an emergency press conference scheduled to take place on Wednesday at its headquarters, Pascal Bayfau House at 11:30a.m.
