The
organised labour has given the Federal Government up to December 31 to
send the tripartite committee report on N30,000 minimum wage to the
National Assembly following a decision that was taken in Lagos on
Thursday at a joint meeting of three labour centres—the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the United Labour
Congress (ULC). Labour said the ultimatum followed President Buhari’s
statement that a “high powered technical committee” would be set up to
device ways of ensuring that the implementation of the new wage did not
lead to an increase in the level of borrowing. NLC President, Ayuba
Wabba, who addressed newsmen after the meeting, said that setting up a
technical committee could not be a condition for passing the minimum
wage report to the National Assembly. According to Wabba, the organised
labour cannot guarantee industrial peace and harmony in the country if
the wage report was not passed for implementation on or before
December 31. “We reject in its entirety the plan to set up another
`high powered technical committee’ on the minimum wage. It is
diversionary and a delay tactics.The national minimum wage committee was
both technical and all-encompassing in its compositions and plan to set
up a technical committee is alien to the tripartite process. It is also
alien to the International Labour Organisations’ conventions on
national minimum wage setting mechanism,’’ he said. The labour leader
said that issues on payment of minimum wage was a law that was
universal, citing that other African countries like, Kenya, Ghana and
South Africa had increased their minimum wage this yearMinimum wage: NLC issues December 31 deadline to FG
The
organised labour has given the Federal Government up to December 31 to
send the tripartite committee report on N30,000 minimum wage to the
National Assembly following a decision that was taken in Lagos on
Thursday at a joint meeting of three labour centres—the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the United Labour
Congress (ULC). Labour said the ultimatum followed President Buhari’s
statement that a “high powered technical committee” would be set up to
device ways of ensuring that the implementation of the new wage did not
lead to an increase in the level of borrowing. NLC President, Ayuba
Wabba, who addressed newsmen after the meeting, said that setting up a
technical committee could not be a condition for passing the minimum
wage report to the National Assembly. According to Wabba, the organised
labour cannot guarantee industrial peace and harmony in the country if
the wage report was not passed for implementation on or before
December 31. “We reject in its entirety the plan to set up another
`high powered technical committee’ on the minimum wage. It is
diversionary and a delay tactics.The national minimum wage committee was
both technical and all-encompassing in its compositions and plan to set
up a technical committee is alien to the tripartite process. It is also
alien to the International Labour Organisations’ conventions on
national minimum wage setting mechanism,’’ he said. The labour leader
said that issues on payment of minimum wage was a law that was
universal, citing that other African countries like, Kenya, Ghana and
South Africa had increased their minimum wage this year
