The Nigeria Governors’ Forum, which consists of 36 state governors, has said that the federal government’s proposed N60,000 minimum salary is unworkable and unsustainable.
According to a statement made by the Forum’s Acting Director of Media Affairs and Public Relations, Mrs. Halima Ahmed, many states will use their whole monthly allotment from the federation account to pay employee salaries if permitted to fly. The governors urged the tripartite committee members to reach a consensus on a minimum wage that would be equitable and long-term.
There is consensus among the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) that a new minimum wage is necessary. The Forum supports labor unions in their efforts to raise salaries as well.
The Forum, however, implores all sides to take into account the reality that the minimum wage discussions also entail significant changes affecting all cadres, including seniors. “The participants to this crucial conversation are admonished by the NGF to consider more than merely signing a paper for the sake of it; any agreement to be made should be realistic and sustainable.
“Taking everything into account, the NGF maintains that the proposed N60,000 minimum salary is unworkable and unrealistic. All it will entail is that a lot of states would use all of their FAAC allotment for salary payments, leaving little for growth. Some states will even have to take out loans in order to pay their employees on a monthly basis. We do not believe that this will serve the interests of the nation as a whole, especially the workers.
The statement said: “We implore all parties concerned, particularly the labor unions, to take into account all socioeconomic factors and reach a resolution that is long-lasting, sustainable, and equitable to all other societal groups with a rightful claim to public resources.” Remember that on Monday, organized labor began a nationwide walkout after rejecting the N60,000 offer.
However, the Federal Government’s pledge to raise the minimum wage to more than N60,000 when they reopen negotiations resulted in the action being suspended on Tuesday.
Labour Promises To Reject Meagre N60,000
AdditionWorkers pledged not to accept any meager additions from the government after the Federal Government agreed to add anything to the N60,000 that organized labor had rejected.
Festus Osifo, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), made this statement on Channels Television’s Politics Today show on Tuesday, just hours after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the TUC, collectively known as Organised Labour, called off their industrial action, which had begun at 12:01 am on Monday. “They (the tripartite committee) said they would not add anything more to the ₦60,000 at the meeting on Friday, but Mr. President was able to commit to doing what is more than ₦60,000 in the meeting yesterday (Monday),” Osifo stated.
The TUC chief responded, “No, we also told them that it’s not that we’d get to the table and you start adding ₦1, ₦2, ₦3,000 as you were doing and we got some good guarantees here and there that they would do something good,” when asked if Labour would accept a few thousand naira additions to the tripartite committee’s final offer. The country’s new minimum salary for workers should be ₦494,000, as advocated by organized labor; but, according to Osifo, labor is not set on that sum. But he maintained that in light of the present inflationary constraints, the tripartite committee needed to demonstrate its sincerity and provide workers with an economically feasible offer.
Tripartite committee is unable to convene.
Since the strike suspension, the tripartite committee for a new national minimum wage has been meeting to decide on a new pay. The gathering, the fifth since organized labor’s industrial action was suspended, is taking place behind closed doors at the Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Director General, State Minister of Labor and Employment Nkiruka Onyejeocha, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, a representative of the Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Minister of Finance Wale Edun, and Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Bagudu are among the notable committee members present. Committee members promised that a figure might be revealed on Friday when the meeting took place on Thursday.
