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Tag: minimum wage

  • Only Lagos can pay N30,000 minimum wage – Yari

    …warns NASS not to pass minimum wage states can’t pay

    The Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Abdulaziz Yari, has warned National Assembly against passing a new National Minimum Wage that would be difficult for states to pay.

    Mr Yari, who is the governor of Zamfara State, issued the warning in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the public hearing on new National Minimum Wage bill on Monday in Abuja.

    News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) recalls that labour unions had rejected the approved N27,000 by the national council of states, demanding N30,000 as a new minimum wage.

    Reacting to the demand, Mr Yari said the demand for N30,000 as the new minimum was not realistic.

    According to him, only Lagos State can afford that N30,000 as minimum wage, not even Rivers can pay that much.

    He said leaders must tell themselves the truth and not pass figures that would be difficult to implement in the field.

    “It is easy to call figures, but when it comes to implementing in the field, it becomes a problem.

    “Only Lagos can afford the N30,000 as minimum wage, not even Rivers can afford to pay that much,” he said

  • 30,000 too small, pay ‘living-wage’ not ‘minimum wage’ – Dogara tells FG

    Speaker of the House of Representaties, Hon. Yakubu Dogara on Monday urged the Federal Goverment to pay workers a living wage and not minimum wage, while stressing that N30, 000 demanded by organised labour is too small.

    Dogara made the remarks during a public hearing on the minimum wage bill.

    His words: “While we’re not oblivion of the economic situation in the country, we are saying that the N30,000 being demanded by the organised labour union is still not enough for the minimum wage.

    “we should be paying our workers living wage not minimum wage”

    Earlier in his remarks, the chairman ad-hoc cttee on minimum wage bill, Yusuf Lasun while reminding all gathered that the hearing is to do some amendments of the National minimum wage Act assured that it will undertake utmost concern and provide the best recommendations to the House

    Meanhwile, while introducing himself at the session, the Minister of Labour Employment and Productivity, Chris Ngige was booed when he shouted great Nigeria workers.

    Details soon…

  • Minimum wage: Again, NLC threatens strike action if…

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Friday directed its members to be ready to take appropriate actions should the National Assembly fail to do the needful by affirming N30,000 as the new national minimum wage at state and federal levels.

    It said the National Assembly should uphold the recommendation of the tripartite committee which specified N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

    President of the congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, told reporters at the end of an emergency meeting of the Central Working Committee of the congress yesterday that the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions guiding negotiations on minimum wage do not allow one party to change the figures agreed upon after negotiations.

    The process of changing the figure agreed upon after negotiations, he said, must follow the same process of negotiations in accordance with international best practices and in accordance with ILO conventions.

    He insisted that even the N30,000 agreed to by the tripartite committee was a compromise position for which labour should be commended as it is still less than 100 dollars if converted.

    Wabba said: “This is the resolution that has just been adopted by a meeting of the Central Working Committee of the Nigeria Labour Congress. The meeting deliberated on a one-item agenda which is the issue of the transmission of the national minimum wage bill to the National Assembly.

    “The meeting reviewed the whole situation, including the fact that what was agreed at the tripartite negotiation meeting of the review of the minimum wage was N30,000. It is actually out of place and out of procedure for that figure to be reduced to N27,000. “

  • Reps back Council of State, approves N30,000 Minimum Wage for Federal Workers

    Reps back Council of State, approves N30,000 Minimum Wage for Federal Workers

    The House of Representative has on Thursday debated and approved the new minimum wage of N30,000 as provided for in the New Minimum Wage Bill 2019 sent to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    This followed the heated debate on the proposed legislation by President Buhari which was sent to the lawmakers and was moved by the House Leader Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila during plenary.

    It would be recalled that the National Council of State on Tuesday approved N27,000 for State government workers and N30,000 for federal government workers in the New National Minimum Wage Bill.

    But the lawmakers during the debate had lamented that the revised New Minimum Wage Bill is not good enough to address the challenges being faced by Nigerian workers at this inauspicious time.

    Most of the lawmakers who spoke during the debate on the bill had called for a two year review of the new minimum wage to cater for the needs of the average Nigerian workers.

    Some of the lawmakers who spoke at session notably Hon M. T Monguno Borno, APC), Hon. Sunday Karimi (Kogi, PDP), Hon.Sadiq Ibrahim (Adamawa, APC) and Hon. Toby Okechukwu (Enugu,PDP) had noted that the new wage bill is grossly inadequate to cater for the needs of the citizenry.

    Whereas Monguno noted that the new wage bill is not enough to address inflation in the country, Okechukwu particularly noted that it was auspicious for government to be addressing new minimum wage after almost 38 years.

    Consequently the House presided by the Speaker Hon Yakubu Dogara passed the bill into second reading.

    He thereafter referred it to the House Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity for further inputs.

     

  • CNPP begs labour to accept newly approved minimum wage

    The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties ( CNPP ), Edo chapter, has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC ) to accept the N27, 000 new minimum wage endorsed by the National Council of State.

    The Chairman of CNPP, Mr Roy Oribhabor, made the appeal on Wednesday in Benin.

    He urged the NLC to accept the new minimum wage as matter of love and patriotism, in spite of the economic hardship being experienced in the country.

    He emphasised that the appeal became necessary after a critical evaluation of the N27, 000 minimum wage in Nigeria as approved by the NCS.

    “In as much as we know things are hard, we solicit for understanding because of the reality on ground today from some states.

    “We commend the leaders of the NLC for the foresight and determination to provide acceptable wages for Nigerian workers,” Oribhabor said in a statement.

    He also called on state governors to be more prudent with management and allocations of resources for the betterment of the people.

    “Therefore, transparency and accountability should be their primary concern.

    “Finally, we appeal to labour unions not to allow politicians to use them to advance their agenda to the detriment of the Nigerian State.

    “This is the best time to show understanding and accept the minimum wage because the process of salaries increment is never an ending negotiation, hence our appeal,” he said.

     

  • Council of State approves N27,000 minimum wage for states

    Council of State approves N27,000 minimum wage for states

    …Approves N30,000 for federal workers

    This amount is for the least paid workers in the states and the private sector.

    However, Federal Government workers will take home N30,000 as their minimum wage.

    The Council arrived at this decision at its meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

    The Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, has just confirmed the development to State House Correspondents in Abuja.

    With the outcome of the meeting, Ngige stated that a bill would be sent to the National Assembly latest on Wednesday (tomorrow).

    Details soon…

     

  • Senate speaks on approval of Minimum Wage Bill before 2019 elections

    Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan, has said the National Assembly will give priority to the 2019 budget upon resumption.

    Lawan also noted that the lawmakers will give priority to the passage of the minimum wage bill upon.

    He said this on Tuesday in an interview with the press in Abuja where he added that “We should be able to work hard to pass those bills that are fundamental and central to revamping the economy.

    “Bills that are central to re-engineering and reorientating the social environment, and generally making Nigeria a stable and safe country; we are determined to do that.”

    According to him, “The 2019 budget, for instance, is central even though we have to break at a point; shortly after resumption, say two weeks, maximum three weeks.

    “It is my judgment that we will be doing ourselves some good if we take second reading of the budget.

    “That is, we will take the debate and general principles of the bill and then refer it to the committees on appropriation of the two chambers at least before we go.”

    He added that “It is crucial that we pass the bill on national minimum wage. I believe that the Executive has played its part.

    “I have no idea what it is at the moment, but I believe that it is one of those bills we should expedite legislative process on to get it passed to ensure that there is stability in the workforce.

    “The workforce is what we rely on for the implementation of our various programmes and projects as a government.

    “I believe that when the bill comes, we should be able to do justice to it within the period we will be around.

    “We should be able to slate it for first, second reading at least, and maybe immediately we resume we will pass it through third reading. This is to ensure that the workers get a fair deal.”

  • FG fixes Jan 23 for transmission of Minimum Wage Bill to NASS

    The Federal Government has fixed January 23, 2019, to transmit the new Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly with a view to fast-tracking the implementation of a new wage structure for Nigerian workers.

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, confirmed this to journalists on Tuesday after a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and its allies in Abuja.

    He assured the labour leaders that the government will be presenting the recommendations of the tripartite committee to the States Security Council in the coming weeks.

    According to him, the whole process that precedes the transmission of the bill to the National Assembly will be completed before January 23.

    On his part, the President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, stressed the importance of keeping to the timeline to avoid further disagreements between labour and the government.

  • Okowa, Ganduje, Ayade agree to pay N30,000 minimum wage

    Okowa, Ganduje, Ayade agree to pay N30,000 minimum wage

    Sequel to the Tuesday nationwide protest by Nigerian workers, governors, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta; Ben Ayade of Cross River State and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano has pledged to support the N30,000 minimum wage demand by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).

    The governors made the pledge in their respective states in reaction to protesting workers under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the United Labour Congress (ULC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC)

    Gov. Okowa

    Represented by his Chief of Staff, Tam Brisibe, the Okowa while speaking to labour unions at the Government House, Asaba said that his administration had always maintained a cordial relationship with the labour unions.

    He added that his administration would continue to ensure that workers welfare was sustained and prioritised.

    “You know that we have never had any issues with labour in Delta, and my government as you all know is a labour-friendly government.

    “We acknowledge the letter that you sent in respect of the new national minimum wage; I am sure with the previous discussion your executives had with the government, you already have my commitment.

    “Once the Federal Government establishes the new minimum wage and puts it into law, Delta government will implement it immediately.

    “We all know that it is not the responsibility of the Delta Government to say what the wage should be but once that is agreed on, we will implement,’’ Okowa said.

    Gov Ayade

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has said that his government will implement the N30, 000 minimum wage immediately president Buhari puts his signature to the bill.

    He stated this on Tuesday in Calabar while receiving some aggrieved workers in his office. Governor Ayade said that the statewide rally by workers was justified as workers needed the new minimum wage.

    The Governor who was represented by the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Hon John Olafor said, “The State will pay the minimum wage. It is the right of the workers to demand for the new wage of N30, 000.

    “N30, 000 is just alright and as such, we will ensure that any step you take on the realisation of this very timely demand is achieved,” he stated.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade John Ushie regretted that the tripartite committee on the National minimum wage, comprising the government and organized private sector concluded its work and submitted the report with a draft bill to President Buhari on November 6th, 2018 but nothing had been done.

    “Six governors were members of the committee that worked out the new wage which implies that the report and draft bill were the collective efforts of the broadest spectrum of all concerned parties and this should command the support of every governor”, he said.

    Ganduje

    The Government of Kano State has also restated its commitment to pay the new minimum wage of N30,000 with additional N600.

    Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano disclosed this when members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) staged a peaceful protest to the government house on Tuesday in Kano.

    He said that his administration has given priority to the welfare of civil servants in the state.

    Represented by his Deputy, Alhaji Nasiru Gawuna, he said that Kano state was among the few States in the country that pays monthly salary on time.

    “We are ready to pay N30,000 monthly salary because welfare of our workers is paramount to anything and we will always give it preference.

    “We will pay the N30,600 as soon as all processes are completed,” he added.

    Ganduje then urged ‎women and youths to stay away from drug abuse and addiction due to their harmful effects to health.‎

    ‎”Our women, particularly married women and youths must say no to drug abuse and addiction. They should stop abusing it because it will ultimately damage their systems and cut short their lives,” he warned.‎

    ‎Earlier, the NLC Chairman in the state, Mr Kabiru Minjibir, commended the governor for his commitment to pay the minimum wage of N30,600.‎

    ‎”We are not surprise for this kind gesture taking into consideration your labour friendly disposition.

    “We also urge your excellency to convey our polite gesture to your co-governors to enlighten the public on new national minimum wage and it’s speedy enactment into law,” he added.

  • Minimum Wage: Nigerian workers protest, decry poor living conditions [Photos]

    Minimum Wage: Nigerian workers protest, decry poor living conditions [Photos]

    The Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC ) has embarked on a nationwide protest today ahead of the commencement of an indefinite strike.

    The protest rally was to create awareness on the new Minimum Wage for workers and to press home its demand for an executive draft bill on the N30,000 minimum wage to be transmitted by the presidency to the National Assembly.

    President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Ayuba Wabba on Tuesday lamented that Nigerian workers can no longer afford a decent meal or take care of the need of their families as a result of poor purchasing power.

    Wabba who spoke while addressing workers on the first day of the nationwide sensitization and mobilization rallies in Abuja said government must take the welfare and well-being of workers seriously and treat it as top priority as they are the ones that create the wealth of the nation.

    Wabba frown at those referring to workers as tiny minority, saying if there is a group that is a tiny minority, it is the political leaders that are receiving homongous salaries

    He said: “Workers welfare and wellbeing must be paramount. That is why we say this rally must take place across the length and breadth of the country. Today in every government house in Nigeria, protest is being transmitted to all our political leaders, the governors at the state level and here, we are in the office of the FCT Minister, who is also like the governor

    “We want to say that workers are very central to economic development. They are very central to the prosperity of any country and therefore we can not be described as the tiny minority.

    “Workers are very productive. We built the Nigerian economy, we fight for democracy, rule of law and good governance and there is no way we can be described as tiny minority, as we services the entire country.

    While insisting that government must approve the N30,000 new national minimum wage, Wabba said that workers are instrumental to the economic development of the country.

    Wabba went further to argue that workers cannot be regarded as a liability but an asset.

    “Nigerian workers are an asset and must be celebrated. Anywhere around the world where there is progress, workers are celebrated. Workers must be able to take care of their families, they must be able to feed well, they must be able to pay children’s school fees, but today most workers are unable to feed three meals per day because the minimum wage of N18,000 is no longer enough to cater for their basic needs.

    “Workers create the wealth of any nation. If we create the wealth of Nigeria then we must partake in the sharing of such wealth and therefore the welfare of workers must be paramount. That was why we said that this rally will take place at the length and breadth of the country.

    “So workers must be able to take care of their family, send their children to school. But today, workers are not able to feed three times a day or send their children to school because minimum wage of N18, 000, is no longer sustainable and no longer realistic and cannot take care of worker’s needs. This is the reality.

    “Therefore we have agreed on the negotiation table which took us up to one year negotiating. Workers have being patience and more considerate and we look at all issues and we agreed on the N30,000.00

    “Nigeria is the best and largest economy in Africa and south Africa is only second to us. Yet, they are paying N120, 000 as their minimum wage and non of their political elite complained and they were able to deliver. It is the same thing with Ghana and that is why their economy is prospering.

    “So if we have a pool of the working poor there is no way the economy can do better. We are here to submit our letter of protest and demand like our states councils are doing in their various state right now, to the FCTA minister and the onward transmission to Mr President. We want to call on Mr president for onward transmission”.