Metro

Nigerian govt begs labour unions to shelve planned strike over minimum wage

Published

1 month ago

June 1, 2024

The Nigerian government has pleaded with organized labour to shelve its planned indefinite strike action scheduled for Monday, June 3, 2024, over the lingering impasse on the implementation of a new minimum wage.

The labour unions made up of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and other affiliated unions had on Friday, given the Monday deadline to embark on an indefinite strike to protest against government’s refusal to raise the proposed minimum wage from N60,000.

President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, who announced the decision of the unions after its National Executive Council (NEC), said the indefinite strike would begin by midnight on Monday.

In a statement jointly signed by Ajaero and his TUC counterpart, Festus Osifo, described government’s stance on the minimum wage as a matter of grave concern and disappointment, adding that the federal government’s failure to conclude and pass into law a new National Minimum Wage Act, and reverse the hike in electricity tariff to N65/kWh, was a major setback.

Ajaero noted that a deadlocked meeting held between the government and Labour during the week further “demonstrated the lack of seriousness and apparent contempt with which the Nigerian state held the demands of Nigerian workers and people.”

“No governor was present and ministers were absent, except the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, who doubles as a conciliator,” Ajaero stated.

“There was none present on the side of the government with appropriate authority to commit them to any outcome. In essence, the government abandoned the meeting.

“We consider this disdainful and shows a lack of commitment to a successful National Minimum Wage negotiation exercise.

“During the last May Day celebration, Organised Labour issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government, demanding the conclusion of the minimum wage negotiation exercise by the end of the month.

“However, there has been no significant progress or commitment from the government towards meeting this demand.

“We also demanded a reversal of the last hike in electricity tariff from N225/kWh back to N65/kWh, and stoppage of the apartheid categorisation of consumers into bands.

“We carried out a nationwide one-day protest on May 13, 2024, giving the government until the last day of this month to take action; but the government has not entirely shown any positive response, despite the national outrage at the insensitive hike.

“Nigerian workers, who are the backbone of our nation’s economy, deserve fair and decent wages that reflect the current economic realities,” Ajaero said.

But in a press statement issued late Friday, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, called on the labour leaders to reconsider and shelve the strike action in the interest of the nation.

Mohammed who described the NLC and TUC as “partners in Project Nigeria”, noted that industrial action was not the solution to the ongoing negotiation for a new minimum wage for workers.

“The government is pleading with Labour to reconsider its position. The FG has already made an offer of N60,000, and whatever the government does is in the interest of Nigerians,” the minister pleaded.

“We won’t like to do something that will throw the country into another problem.

“Even as we do that, we are pleading with Labour. They are partners in this project called ‘Nigeria’ and we expect them to join hands with the FG as it strives to look for solutions that will take Nigeria to the desired prosperity.

“Our message is that of an appeal and the need for Labour to see reason with the government. That was even the basis for setting up the tripartite committee that was made up of Organised Labour, the sub-nationals and the FG.

“This was because the government just didn’t want to make unilateral decisions. In any case, the position on the wage regime is not a one-sided thing.

“We expect that they will see reason with the government. That is why we are calling on them to show understanding by not embarking on the strike because we don’t want that at this point.

“A strike is not the solution to our problem. We are continuing our negotiation with them. The minister and other stakeholders are still talking to them and we believe that we will find a common ground,” he stated.

Click to comment

Metro

Zambia: PF factional leader Sampa blames President Hichilema’s govt for crisis within party

Published

13 mins ago

July 4, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Miles Sampa, the factional leader of Zambia’s main opposition party, Patriotic Front (PF), has accused the President Hakainde Hichilema administration of causing crisis in the party while planning to create a “banana republic” using the country’s Parliament.

Sampa, who is the Member of Parliament for the Matero constituency and has been locked in a supremacy war with former President Edgar Lungu over control of the PF, also alleged that the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Moyo, ignored pardon letters from him as the party president and Secretary-General, while taking matters into his own hands regarding the dismissal of the nine MPs from the PF.

The internal crisis rocking the PF was magnified on Wednesday when the lawmaker representing Mafinga, James Chabinga, was elected as the acting factional leader by the Central Committee.

The Central Committee also expelled Sampa from the party and removed him as factional leader following what was described as a secret fence-mendng meeting with Lungu.

But while reacting to the development, Sampa in a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, said that all the nine MPs who had earlier been suspended had been pardoned or had their issues resolved amicably within the PF.

He added that the Office of the Speaker was advised in writing about the status of the nine MPs on Wednesday morning before the ruling was made.

“Even if it’s insisting on becoming a banana republic, this is extreme and total dislike for the country and its ordinary people,” Sampa wrote.

He stated that the letters were signed by the incumbent Secretary-General and President of the party, who had recently dismissed Secretary-General Morgan Ng’ona, whom he had appointed a few months back.

“The SG position is not electable. An SG acts as an assistant to the party president and therefore acts on his behalf as the appointing authority,” he noted.

Sampa stated that the President of the PF who is also acting as Secretary-General, wrote valid letters to Parliament, and it was not for Parliament to ignore and get involved in party matters, citing a Constitutional Court ruling from the previous week, which stated that the Speaker cannot question correspondence from a party, whether it comes from the president or the SG, especially when one person holds both positions.

“The treasury is very, very broke and the Ministry of Finance does not have the money for these by-elections and other needs given the drought and other factors,” Sampa noted.

He also urged Moyo to follow his conscience and do the right thing, stating it was not too late to avoid these by-elections for the sake of good governance.

He added that the Registrar of Societies ignored the correspondence, as per their printout of office bearers on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.

Metro

Nigerian Senate rates FG below par on 2024 budget performance

Published

7 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian Senate has rated the Federal Government below par on the implementation of the capital component of the 2024 national budget.

The lawmakers, who gave the executive arm of government the low score on Wednesday, said there was a need for the government to get Ministries, Department and Agencies of the Federal Government to implement the budget satisfactorily.

The Upper Chamber also urged the government to intensify efforts in funding the capital components of the three national budgets which are running concurrently in the country.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Solomon Adeola who made the charge when the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, along with the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, appeared before the panel over the budget performances.

“It is the capital component of the budgets that will showcase this government largely in terms of performances,” Adeola said while lamenting the poor funding of the capital components of the budgets.

“The capital components tend to showcase various projects that will be executed by this government and people can say, oh, the government is doing this, it’s doing that. That is why we are emphasising the performance of the 2024 capital component of the project.

“The N1.84bn achieved so far out of a N9tn capital expenditure component is nothing to write home about.

“I would want you to please look towards this direction. And I want you to do more engagement with the ministries and departments and agencies of the government.”

The Senator however, urged the Minister to engage more with the MDAs because most of them were not aware of the current arrangement regarding funding of capital projects.

“I tell you for free, some agencies will tell you that they have not been given any money for capital when we are fully aware that the process of payment of capital has changed.

“That shows a lot of engagement has to go on from time to time to bring it to their notice that you are no longer in charge of payment to contractors.

“I want you to please do a kind of continuous engagement. It will help so that everybody can come to terms that the system has changed.”