Implement new Minimum Wage or face wrath of workers, public servants warn govt
By THE public servants, comparing workers in the core civil servants and their counterparts in the government departments and parastatals have warned both Federal and state governments to implement new minimum wage or face the wrath of workers.
Under the aegis of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC); Trade Union Side (TUS) the workers, in agreement with the decision reached by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the United Labour Congress (ULC), insisted that the government must implement new national minimum wage, or face indefinite strike action.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of JNPSNC, Comrade Abdrafiu Alani Adeniji; and the Secretary, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, the workers condemned the manipulation by the Federal Government to derail the new national minimum wage.
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They stressed the urgent need for the Federal Government and the state to accept the minimum wage agreed by the tripartite in their last meeting and ensure its implementation urgently.
The JNPSNC regretted that instead of the Federal Government to send a bill to the National Assembly to enact the 2018 National Minimum Wage Act, it has elected to embark on a fruitless plot to subvert the entire negotiation that took more than one year to conclude.
The statement read: “How can the Federal Government try to sabotage a democratically agreed National Minimum Wage that was even voted for and agreed upon by all the stakeholders.
“We call on the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) that participated actively and fully in the negotiation to speak out and tell the world the whole truth on what transpired before the new National Minimum Wage was arrived at.”
The Labour Leaders stated that Labour is in the Exclusive Legislative list and as such the Federal Government should proceed to enact the National Minimum Wage Act instead of trying to intimidate workers by invoking a primitive labour law of no work no pay in the 21st century where the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is harping on international labour best practices.
“Nigerian workers are determined and no amount of intimidation will cow them from demanding for their right. The Federal Government should, therefore, send the National Minimum Wage bill to the National Assembly without further delay.
“Once the Federal Government sends the new National Minimum Wage bill to the National Assembly and it is passed into law, it will become binding on the State Governments and any of them that refuses to implement it will face the wrath of millions of Nigerian workers,” the labour leaders emphasized.
According to the JNPSNC, since State Governors were represented at the Tripartite Committee that negotiated the new National Minimum Wage, it is surprising that the NGF, an illegal body, would turn round to express reservations on the recommendations of the Panel.
“At any rate, it must be admitted that some State Governors have publicly stated that they will implement the new National Minimum Wage.
“This is why we demand that the new National Minimum Wage should be enacted into law and Governors that refuse to implement it will meet millions of Nigerian workers at the polls during the forthcoming gubernatorial elections,” the Union stated.
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