Minimum Wage: Labour Proposes N709,000, TUC  N447,000 for Workers

*Plateau mulls N80,000 

*Ajaero: Current income is starving pay 

*Mohammed: Suffering of Nigerians terrible 

*Fintiri: Let workers’ demand be reasonable 

*Adeleke seeks review of revenue sharing formula

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo and Daji Sani in Yola

The  Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), have proposed a new minimum wage of N709,000 and N447,000 respectively for the nation’s workers.

This followed the public hearing by the federal government on proposals for new minimum wage in the six geographical zones of the country yesterday,
The two labour centres, however, presented the figures at the North Central Zonal Public Hearing of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage (TCNMW) held in Abuja.
The proposals by NLC and TUC came just as Plateau State representative proposed amount ranging from N60,000, to N70,000 and N80,000 for the committee’s consideration as the national minimum wage.

Other states in the zone like Kwara, Nasarawa, and Niger did not present any specific figure during the public hearing.
On their part, pensioners, represented by the Federal Civil Service Pensioners Union Chairman, Comrade Sunday Omezi, said they were unanimously asking for 85 per cent of whatever figure the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee agreed to pay workers.
Justifying its demand for N447,000 as the new minimum wage, TUC listed several factors such as foreign exchange volatility and its attendant consequences, removal of fuel subsidy/increase in the prices of petroleum products, inflation, continuous increase in electricity tariff and the need to pay a living wage to workers.

“As at the last minimum wage review in 2019, one dollar was exchanged for N325.00. A Dollar now exchanges for over N1,500.00, an increment of almost 500%.
“This has reflected on the prices of basic goods consumed by Nigerians because as earlier noted Nigeria is import-dependent for almost all supplies.
“On the strength of this argument, it has become extremely necessary to review upward the National minimum wage to a reasonable level to cope with the current economic realities brought,” TUC said.

Earlier, the TUC President, Festus Osifo, who chaired the North Central zone of the Public Hearing said, the committee was keenly interested in receiving well-researched positions and recommendations that would aid in making informed decisions.
Chief of Staff to the Kwara State Governor, Abdulkadir Aliyu Mahe, however, asked the federal and state governments to consider paying workers both at the federal and state levels sustainable minimum wage.

He also called on the federal government to review upwardly the allocation state governments receive from the government of the federation.
Nasarawa State Governor, who was represented by the Head of Service of the State, Mrs. Abigail Waya, urged the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee to allow her state renegotiate minimum wage with their work force, saying economic realities might not encourage the state to pay a new minimum wage beyond its financial capability.

Niger State Head of Service, Salisu Abubakar, said his government was willing to pay any amount fixed by the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee a.
Deputy Governors of Niger and Nasarawa States, representative of Manufactures Association of Nigeria, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Chairman Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage, and representative of the Federal Judicial Service Commission attended the Public Hearing.
Meanwhile, the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC Comrade Joel Ajaero, has said the current minimum wage of workers was a starving wage and hopeless one, following the current economic hardship bedeviling  the nation.
He made the remarks yesterday at a one day Northeast public hearing organised by the Tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage in Yola, Adamawa State capital.

According to him, the present reality of the country has made it impossible for Nigeria workers to meet up their responsibilities and therefore, the need for new wage could never be overemphasised.
Ajaero, who was chairman of the Northeast zonal public hearing, said the meeting was meant for stakeholders to make their proposals which would be discussed at the committee level so as present a true reflection and yearnings of the Nigeria worker both in the public and private sectors.
“We hope to also have a public hearing with the market men and women in the nearest future,” he said.
The meeting which had presentations from all the states in the Northeast region unanimously agreed that whatever amount reached at, there should be a review every five years.

In his speech, the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed said  “the hardship Nigerians are facing is terrible,” and urged all leaders across board not to relent in offering the best way out of the problems.
Mohammed advised that, “In  reviewing the minimum wage, I urged  to identify with the enormous challenges of governance, which is saddled with a number of responsibilities that needed its immediate intervention, urging all the stakeholders to look at the multi-dimensional responsibilities of governments while making their inputs.”

He thanked president Bola Ahmed Tinubu for agreeing to set up the tripartite committee as response to the need for him to carry all people especially civil servants along in the wake of petrol subsidy removal.
The host governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, said the workers clamoured for more pay was cogent, logical and legitimate in view of the current economic realities in the land.

Represented by his deputy, Professor Kelatapwa Farauta, Fintiri reaffirmed the commitment of his government to continue to champion the rights of the workers and  reposition the civil service as the engine room of the government.
She noted that while the government was keen to increase the minimum wage, workers should also understand that the state government was facing other key challenges across the state and other sundry responsibilities, urging the workers to be considerate in their demands.”

Nevertheless, both the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN, Adamawa State chapter and the Muslim council, have advocated over four hundred thousand per month  as minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

They  also made a case for a unified basic salary structure for both the public and private sectors across the country.

Participants at the public hearing also recommended that, the Oronsonyi report be implemented within the tiers of government which would cut costs of governance.

They made case for food security policy to be adequately enforced to enhance high productivity in public and private sectors, adding that the workers needed to be motivated for hard work and honesty by re-introducing awards and prompt promotions.