Attempt to reverse minimum wage declaration of war – NLC

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday said it was shocked over a statement credited to the chairman of the Governors Forum, Governor Abdulaziz Yari, that the N18, 000 National Minimum Wage promulgated into law in 2011 was no longer sustainable because of the fall in the price of crude oil. NLC president Ayuba Wabba said […]

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday said it was shocked over a statement credited to the chairman of the Governors Forum, Governor Abdulaziz Yari, that the N18, 000 National Minimum Wage promulgated into law in 2011 was no longer sustainable because of the fall in the price of crude oil.
NLC president Ayuba Wabba said that the attempt to reverse the National Minimum Wage is a declaration of war against the working people of this country, adding that the labour would have no alternative than to mobilize to respond to this act of aggression by the political class on our workers.
Wabba workers who went down memory lane said that the  National Minimum Wage came into existence in  2011,   after almost two years of agitation and eventual negotiation by the tripartite of government (represented by both the federal and state governments), the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association representing other employers (in the private sector) and organized labour.
According to him, the tripartite negotiation was recognized and codified by the International Labour Organization.
He said, “As organized labour, we submitted a request for N52,000 and provided justification for it as the minimum wage which a worker and his recognized legal dependents needs to live a healthy life over 30 – 31 days in a month. Out of our patriotic disposition and consideration, we reluctantly agreed to the N18,000 wage even as it was grossly inadequate as a living wage. Many of the state governments who submitted memoranda to the tripartite negotiating committee recommended figures that were far above the N18,000 that 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!”
He said that labour believes that ability to pay minimum wages is not the problem of the economy, but the problem is due to the amount many political office holders and their unproductive aides take away as wages.
“And for the private sector, the creed to accumulate more and more profit is also always a motivating factor to keep wages down.  Similarly, we have been in the forefront of campaigning that the cost of governance at all levels need to be drastically cut down, to  free enough resources for development.”