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Minimum Wage Deadline: NLC Meets to Consider Report on Compliance by States
•ILO to increase action against child labour
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
As the December I timeline set by organised labour for the implementation of new minimum wage approaches, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has met to collate and assess reports from its state branches.
NLC president, Joe Ajaero, said consideration of the report will be a prelude to any further measures to be taken to enforce payment of the N70,000 minimum wage in states across the country.
The move by the Labour movement came just as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said that it would increase action on efforts to combat child Labour in Nigeria in the coming years.
Ajaero who spoke at the media parley with stakeholders in the Labour sector jointly organised by ILO and Labour Correspondent Association of Nigeria (LACAN) in Abuja on Thursday said that the issue of child Labour could be linked to harsh economic policies of government.
On the December deadline issued to states on the implementation of the 70,000 minimum wage, Ajaero said that NLC met on Wednesday to evaluate reports from state branches.
When asked on the latest about the directive to state branches to declare strike in states not implementing the new minimum wage, Ajaero said there is a national committee set to monitor compliance by states
He said that the NLC is studying reports sent in by branches on the issue, adding it will make its position known at the expiration of the deadline on Sunday, December 1.
“Although we met yesterday to consider the reports from states, we cannot say here which state strike will start. We will not sit down here and decide on strike action without the input from the states.
“We must sit down to collate state by state activities. He said there are some docile states who are far from implementation of the new minimum wage.
Ajaero said there is a direct linkage between poverty and prevalence of child Labour.
He said that it’s high time international bodies begin to interrogate some government policies that tends to promote child labour by impoverishing the citizens.
ILO Country Director for Nigeria, Vanesa Phala, said the organisation has implemented several intervention programmes aimed at reducing child labour prevalence in the country.
According to her, one of such programmes known as Action Against Child Labour in Agriculture in West Africa (ACLAWA) has made significant strides in combating child Labour.
She further said that ILO has assisted the federal government in the development of a National Industrial Relations Policy which was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2018.
Phala said that the objective of the policy document was to amongst others ensure that industrial relations regulations is adopted and implemented in the country.
While welcoming stakeholders to the parley, acting Chairman of LACAN, Mr. Patrick Abulu said the event was aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of the issues affecting workers and employers and to explore ways in which journalists can work together to promote fair labour practices and improve the overall employment landscape in Nigeria.
In his remarks, former General Secretary of NLC, Comrade John Odah, urged the leadership of NLC and TUC to prevail on government to implement worker-friendly policies.
