Metro

Nigeria: Labour counters Tinubu, says no agreement reached on minimum wage

Published

2 weeks ago

June 13, 2024

The organised labour in Nigeria has countered claims by President Bola Tinubu that an agreement on a national minimum wage has been reached on between the Federal Government and the leadership of labour unions.

Tinubu had, during a broadcast on Wednesday while commemorating the country’s 2024 Democracy Day, claimed that a consensus had been reached on the long-debated new minimum wage between the government and organised labour.

In the national broadcast, Tinubu said that an executive bill will soon be sent to the National Assembly to formalise the new minimum wage agreement, adding that his administration chose a democratic approach over dictatorship in addressing the demands of labour unions.

But while denying that an agreement has been reached, acting President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Prince Adewale Adeyanju, in a statement, insisted that there was no agreement reached by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage at the time negotiations ended on Friday, June 7.

“We reiterate that it will be extremely difficult for Nigerian workers to accept any national minimum wage figure that approximates to a starvation wage,” Adeyanju stated.

“We cannot be working and yet remain in abject poverty.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) attentively listened to the Democracy Day Presidential address delivered by His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, especially concerning the ongoing National Minimum Wage negotiations.

“While the President may have accurately recounted parts of our democratic journey’s history, it is evident that he has been misinformed regarding the outcome of the wage negotiation process.

“To quote Mr. President; “As we continue to reform the economy, I shall always listen to the people and will never turn my back on you. In this spirit, we have negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organized labour on a new national minimum wage. We shall soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of our law for the next five years or less.

“In the face of labour’s call for a national strike, we did not seek to oppress or crack down on the workers as a dictatorial government would have done. We chose the path of cooperation over conflict. No one was arrested or threatened. Instead, the labour leadership was invited to break bread and negotiate toward a good-faith resolution.’

“We appreciate the President’s commitment to those fine democratic ideals which allowed the work of the Tripartite National Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee to proceed unhindered despite some hiccups.

“However, we had expected Mr. President to have used this understanding as one of those who were in the vanguard of the struggle with us around the nation to rescue Nigeria from the hands of the military to harmonize the two figures submitted to him by the Tripartite Committee in favour of workers and masses. It would have been a fitting Democracy Day gift.

“The NLC would have expected that the advisers of the President would have told him that we neither reached any agreement with the federal government and the employers on the base figure for a National Minimum Wage nor on its other components.

“We are therefore surprised at the submission of Mr. President over a supposed agreement. We believe that he may have been misled into believing that there was an agreement with the NLC and TUC.

“There was none and it is important that we let the President, Nigerians and other national stakeholders understand this immediately to avoid a mix-up in the ongoing conversation around the national minimum wage. We have also not seen a copy of the document submitted to him and will not accept any doctored document.

“President’s advisers obviously did not tell him the truth that the leaders of the trade unions were intimidated and harassed.

“It is therefore important that Mr. President understands that we were threatened severally by his operatives perhaps without his consent.

“Series of media Propaganda calculated to intimidate and harass us were, and, are still being waged against the trade unions by senior officials of this government.

“Fully armed soldiers surrounded us while we were in a negotiation with the Government and despite denials, recent statements by senior officials of the Government reaffirmed our fears contrary to the assurances by the Government.

“However, we remain assured that the President’s democratic credentials will come to the fore in favour of Nigerian workers and masses,” the NLC statement said.

Metro

Minimum Wage: Labour warns Tinubu against transmitting bill without negotiation

Published

3 hours ago

June 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Organised Labour in Nigeria has warned President Bola Tinubu against transmitting a proposed minimum wage bill to the National Assembly without further negotiations and reaching a satisfactory deal with its leadership.

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have been locked in a battle with the federal government on its demand for an increase in the minimum wage of Nigerian workers.

While the two parties have not arrived at an agreement, there have been rumours that Tinubu will soon transmit the bill to the National Assembly, but labour has urged the President to consider consulting and reaching an agreement with its leadership before transmitting the proposed bill.

In his Democracy Day broadcast, the President had announced that a consensus had been reached between the Federal Government and Labour on the new minimum wage, a claim both the NLC and TUC promptly debunked.

Tinubu had also stated that an executive bill would soon be sent to the National Assembly to formalise the agreement, emphasising his administration’s preference for a democratic approach over dictatorship in dealing with labour matters.

While speaking with journalists in Abuja on Sunday, a top executive of the NLC who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the labour leaders were disappointed with the government over its delay tactics in handling the wage crisis.

“As things stand, we cannot really do anything until we are aware of what they are trying to do.

“The delay in sending the bill to the National Assembly is even the reason we have yet to call for our NEC meeting.

“The President is supposed to decide on the impasse and then forward the bill to them. They need to come up with an official statement before we can decide on what to tell our people.

“If President Tinubu singlehandedly takes a decision, you know it can’t be the same as the decision of the National Assembly.

“He needs to send the bill so the lawmakers can amend whatever he is sending and call for a public hearing. So we are waiting for him to make his move.

“But if he is wise as we believe, he will not make that move without consulting us directly before even sending the bill.

“If he sends the minimum wage bill based on the position of his government, it means he has taken sides. The wiser thing is for him to intervene since there is a stalemate with the people he sent to negotiate with us.

“But again, we know the Presidency has no idea of what to do and they don’t consult. You only need to sit with some of these people in government to know they are empty. That is the situation at the moment.”

Metro

‘Ghost workers who relocate abroad and still draw salaries must be punished’— Tinubu

Published

1 day ago

June 23, 2024

Isaac Dachen

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered Nigerian civil servants who relocated abroad but are still drawing salaries without formally resigning to refund the accumulated sums they have received during the period or face severe sanctions.

Tinubu, who gave the directive during the 2024 Civil Service Award and Gala Night held at the Continental Hotel in Abuja on Saturday, also directed that supervisors and department heads of the culprits must also be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud under their watch.

Tinubu’s orders came following a recent revelation by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, that there were goverment employees who had relocated abroad but were still drawing salaries without formally resigning.

The President who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, stated that he was dismayed over the attitude of the “foreign based” ghost workers.

“During my recent visit to South Africa, I kept abreast of the week’s activities,” Tinubu said.

“I was particularly struck by the revelations the Head of the Civil Service shared regarding employees who had relocated abroad while drawing salaries without formally resigning.

“It is heartening to hear that measures have been taken to address this issue, but we must ensure those responsible are held accountable and restitution is made.

“The culprits must be made to refund the money they have fraudulently collected.
Their supervisors and department heads must also be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud under their watch,” Tinubu said.

He warned that the Civil Service cannot just be a workplace where ‘anything is possible and where workers violate rules without the fear of punishment or repercussions.

Tinubu reiterated that the government would take appropriate measures to ensure they were punished and the money refunded to the government treasury.

“The civil service of any nation is too important for such misconduct to take root or be tolerated.

“The Civil Service is the bedrock, the engine, the locomotive of government, which is necessary for the government to deliver public goods to citizens. As politicians, we are no more than drivers of the locomotives that you provide,” he noted.