Spokesperson of the NLC, Mr Benson Upah, stated
this in a phone conversation with Daily Sun yesterday.
On Tuesday, the Federal Executive Council (FEC)
had stepped down the memorandum on the report of the Tripartite Committee on
New National Minimum Wage to allow for more consultations between President
Bola Tinubu, state governors, local government authorities and the private
sector.
This is coming more than two weeks after the
committee submitted its recommendations to the president for onward review and
approval.
It was gathered that the NLC and the Trade Union Congress
(TUC) had planned to hold an emergency meeting over the decision of the FEC to
suspend the memo, but later postponed it.
Upah, who refused to give more details on the motive behind
the emergency meeting by the labour unions, emphasised that the government’s
procrastination in finalising the national minimum wage reflected a lack of
seriousness.
He expressed doubt that the ongoing
back-and-forth between the government and the stakeholders would facilitate a
timely resolution.
He pointed out that the process, which included extensive
consultations across the country, had been ongoing for a significant period,
yet the government only now seems to be considering consultations with the key
stakeholders, such as the private sector and the governors.
“We had a time frame for the process of
realising the national minimum wage, and one of the items on that time frame
was consultations, and the consultations were not limited to the parties in the
committee, but extended to the entire country.
“So, we find it curious that it is at the time
of making a final pronouncement on which figure to take that the government
will wake up and start thinking and talking about consultations. What have they
been doing all this while? What did we do when we went to all the zones?
“Clearly, there is a lack of preparation, yet
this is a four-yearly cycle thing and the government was expected to have
prepared. So, this back and forth will not help the process, and then we heard
that the government is going to consult with the private sector and the
governors. They are not talking or consulting with us. So, what does that mean?”
At press time, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum
(NGF) was in a meeting to address ongoing debate surrounding the new minimum
wage proposal and local government autonomy.
The governors recently expressed concerns about
the Federal Government’s proposed N62,000 minimum wage, warning that it is
unsustainable.
They argued that implementing such a wage would result in
many states allocating their entire monthly federation account disbursements
solely to salary payments.
They had, therefore, urged the tripartite committee to agree
on a fair and sustainable minimum wage.
In response to these concerns, the Federal
Government had announced on Tuesday that President Bola Tinubu would engage in
further consultations before reaching a decision on the new minimum wage.
Another key item on the agenda is the
unresolved issue of local government autonomy.
The governors are also set to deliberate on
other critical matters of national importance, covering a wide range of
pressing issues that impact the country’s socio-economic and political
landscape.
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