Minimum wage: NLC mobilises workers for strike

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The Nigeria Labour Congress has urged the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to prevail on governors elected on their platforms to stay away from the planned reduction in the minimum wage and the retrenchment of workers.

The President of the NLC, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, said in a statement on Sunday that any move by the governors to either reduce the minimum wage or retrench workers would throw the country into industrial crisis and chaos.

Wabba said that Nigerian workers would defend the rule of law in the country, which included the N18, 000 Minimum Wage Act.

The NLC leader said that the NLC had to put all its state councils and affiliates on the alert in readiness to defend the Minimum Wage Act from being violated by state governors.

He stressed that the governors were under oath to defend the constitution and the laws of the land, which included the Minimum Wage Act.

He warned that the decision of the governors which was recently reaffirmed by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr. Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara State, could only put them on a collision course with the workers and the Nigerian people.

He said, “In apparent reaction to our statement that the threat by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to jettison the N18,000 national minimum wage would amount to a declaration of war against the working people of our country. Governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara State, and chairman of the NGF, has restated his determination and that of his colleagues to go ahead with the reduction in the national minimum wage or in the alternative embark on massive retrenchment of workers.

“By his reaction, the congress is convinced that Governor Yari is still holding on to his earlier argument that due to the fall in the price of crude oil at the international market, state governments are no longer in a position to pay the legal minimum wage to their workers.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress wishes to categorically affirm that the path our governors are headed can only lead to one outcome: a head-on collision with the Nigerian workers and the Nigerian people!

“We call on the ruling APC government and the opposition PDP to counsel their governors as any attempt to renege on the payment of the N18, 000 national minimum wage or engage in a mass sack of workers in the states will throw our already beleaguered country into an industrial disharmony and chaos either now or as we enter into the New Year in 2016!

“Lastly, all governors, regardless of political affiliation, took the oath of office to defend the laws and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Minimum Wage Act of 2010 which legitimises the negotiated N18,000 is part of the laws of the federation. Nigerian workers will defend the rule of law, including the Minimum Wage Act.

“By this statement, congress is putting our state councils and our industrial union affiliates at a full state of alert and to commence mobilisation to ensure that we can respond speedily and promptly to any action of the governors to carry out their threat.”

Wabba said that governors were getting between N50m and N500m monthly as allocation from the Federation Account. He said they were doing this because of their recklessness, which still made them borrow funds from commercial banks.

He said that the governors screaming against the minimum wage had not mustered enough courage to revoke the immoral practice where governors awarded pensions running into millions of naira to themselves at the point of handing over power.

He added that the same governors had changed the official cars for commissioners and lawmakers from Peugeot to Prado jeeps since taking over power.

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