Metro

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

Published

4 months 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

Zambia: Finance Minister presents K217b 2025 budget to parliament

Published

21 mins ago

September 28, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Zambian Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, has presented the 2025 national budget to the parliament totalling K217 billion which he said was designed to address the pressing drought-induced difficulties affecting the nation.

In a detailed address to parliament in Lusaka on Friday, Musokotwane said it was necessary for innovative revenue-generating strategies to bolster the economy and improve the livelihoods of citizens grappling with these adversities.

The proposed 2025 budget represents a significant increase from the 2024 budget which was K177.9 billion and has already been supplemented by an additional K41.9 billion aimed at mitigating the adverse impacts of the ongoing drought.

Musokotwane laid out a comprehensive strategy to secure funding for the budget and noted that to finance the ambitious budget, there are plans to mobilize K174.2 billion through domestic revenue, while also seeking K8.2 billion in grants from cooperating partners.

According to the minister, the remaining K34.7 billion would be raised through borrowing, reflecting the government’s commitment to addressing fiscal challenges head-on.

He added that there is a proposed Advance Income Tax set at 15 percent on remittances exceeding US$2,000, specifically targeting transactions conducted without a valid Tax Clearance Certificate.

This measure, Musokotwane said, is aimed at combating
illicit financial flows and ensure compliance among businesses and would also apply to non-compliant exporters.

Additionally, Musokotwane announced an upward revision of the corporate income tax rate from 15 percent to 20 percent on profits derived from the export of non-traditional products and value-added copper cathodes.

“The harmonisation is aimed at unifying the income tax regime over the medium term,” he said.

Other notable proposals included the introduction of a K2,500 fee for resident permit holders who remain outside Zambia for more than six months, aligning with international standards.

Musokotwane also proposed a 10 percent excise duty on betting amounts and a significant increase in excise duty on non-alcoholic beverages from the current 60 ngwee to K1 per litre.

Furthermore, he suggested a 20 percent increase in the bands for presumptive tax on motor vehicle operators transporting passengers.

These measures are strategically designed to support the government’s goal of achieving a 6.6 percent real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the coming year.

Metro

29 killed, 321,000 houses, 858,000 hectares of farmlands destroyed by flood in Nigeria’s Kebbi state

Published

8 hours ago

September 28, 2024

Isaac Dachen

No fewer than 29 people have been confirmed killed, with over 329,000 houses destroyed, leaving thousands of residents displaced in a devastating flood that engulfed Kebbi State in north eastern Nigeria.

The State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Yakubu Birnin Kebbi, who made the confirmation at a press conference on Friday, stated that the ravaging flood also submerged 858,000 hectares of farmland, wiping out key crops such as rice, millet, sorghum, and beans, sparking fears of an impending food crisis.

Kebbi said the state government was presently struggling to manage the aftermath of the flood as the scope of the disaster had overwhelmed local resources.

He noted that the State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris’s administration had done its best to assist those affected by the disaster, though the magnitude of the flood demanded more help from interventionist agencies.

He added that the state government had compiled a report on the flood’s impact, which would be submitted to federal agencies in a bid to secure more aid.

“Many of the people have lost their means of livelihood, the disaster has forced farmers into penury, shortage of food looms on the horizon, and our food security target is in jeopardy unless urgent measures are put in place to remedy the situation,” the Commissioner said.

“The Kebbi Government will provide improved seeds and other agricultural input to farmers to return to cultivation, but more is needed.

“Preliminary statistics show that seven persons died in Ngaski, eight in Maiyama, five in Kalgo, seven in Jega, and two in Birnin Kebbi, as a result of the flooding.

He however lamented the fact that the federal government and lawmakers from the state have not done much by way of assistance, adding that he was not aware of a N3 billion grant for flood mitigation from the Nigerian government as being insinuated.

“I am also surprised that members from Kebbi State in the National Assembly, including Senators, are yet to visit the areas ravaged by flooding to offer the necessary assistance and sympathy,” he emphasized.