NLC, TUC Vow To Go On Strike Over National Minimum Wage Rejection

Thursday, 23 October 2014

NLC, TUC Vow To Go On Strike Over National Minimum Wage Rejection

The Nigerian Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria on Wednesday threatened to issue a sit-at-home order to protest the decision of the National Assembly to move the minimum wage from exclusive legislative list to concurrent list.

According to reports, NLC said the move was a declaration of war on Nigerian workers and would complicate the already bad security challenges in the country.

The NLC General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Esan, told The Punch that the organised labour would resist the move with all the resources at its disposal.

Ozo-Esan disclosed that the NLC had called an emergency meeting of its National Executive Committee for Monday to take a final decision on the next plan of action.

He said “Clearly, we are opposed to the movement of the labour issues to the concurrent list. You know that the Senate President (David Mark) gave a promise to revisit the issue during a protest organised by the labour unions on this issue to the National Assembly. And the House of Representatives voted against it so it is a surprise to us.

“We are opposed to it, we think it is retrogressive, it is not an issue we will allow to stand, we are going to contest it with all the resources at our disposal. You will be hearing from us on that.

“As we speak, we have conveyed an emergency NEC meeting on it for Monday next week; it is the organ that will take the NLC’s next position on the issue…

“We have always taken a position that we require autonomy for local governments, we are ok with that, and we have canvassed that position for some time. What we are opposed to is a situation, where autonomy will now affect payment of teachers’ salaries.”

In a statement previously signed by the President and Secretary-General, the ASCSN, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama and Mr. Alade Lawal respectively, the association had said it would not hesitate to call its members out on strike.

The group called for “a total resistance to the move by the National Assembly to further impoverish Nigerian workers by outlawing the meagre national minimum wage through the backdoor.”

The ASCSN said, “It is surprising that the National Assembly wants to complicate the security challenges in the country by inviting millions of Nigerian workers to take to the streets by its insensitive decision to deregulate wage.

“The monthly take home pay of each member of the National Assembly is about N30m. Yet, they are pained that Nigerian workers receive N18, 000 monthly minimum wage which is about $109 per month.”

“It must be emphasised that all countries of the world have National Minimum Wage which must be paid by all employers to their workers. Indeed the ILO Convention 131 of 1970, of which Nigeria is a signatory, requires member countries to institute a National Minimum Wage below which no employer should pay.”