The Nigeria Labour Congress on Saturday highlighted the steps state governors need to take to afford the new minimum wage.
According to The PUNCH, the Congress expressed shock over the governors’ assertion that paying a monthly minimum wage of N60,000 to workers is unsustainable.
It then accused state governors of negotiating in bad faith regarding minimum wage discussions.
The NLC emphasized that in order to afford a reasonable national minimum wage, governors should focus on reducing the high cost of governance, curbing corruption, and prioritizing workers’ welfare.
Governors, under the Nigeria Governors Forum, had on Friday dismissed the proposed N60,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
In a statement by the NGF’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Halimah Ahmed, the governors argued that the proposed wage is excessively high and not feasible.
They warned that adopting the N60,000 minimum wage would result in states allocating all their Federal Account Allocation Committee funds to salaries, leaving nothing for development projects.
Responding in a statement signed by its Head of Public Affairs, Benson Upah, the NLC stated, “We do believe the Governors have acted in bad faith. It is unheard of for such a statement to be issued to the world in the middle of an ongoing negotiation. It is certainly in bad taste.
“As for the veracity of their claim, nothing can be further from the truth as FAAC allocations have since moved from N700 billion to N1.2 trillion making the governments extremely rich at the expense of the people.
“All that the governors need to do to be able to pay a reasonable national minimum wage (not even the N60,000) is cut on the high cost of governance, minimise corruption as well as prioritise the welfare of workers.”
Upah clarified that the union focuses on value rather than figures, explaining that, “It is important to explain here that a national minimum wage is not synonymous with the different pay structures of different states. The national minimum wage is the lowest floor below which no employer is allowed to pay. The aim is to protect the weak and the poor.
“We are not fixated with figures but value. Those who argue that moving the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N60,000 is sufficiently good enough miss the point. In 2019, when N30,000 became the minimum, N300 exchanged for $1 (effectively making the minimum wage an equivalent of $100 or thereabouts) while the inflation rate was 11.40.
“Already manifest is the mass incapacity of Nigerians leading to overflowing warehouses of the productive sector of the economy. The downward trend will continue except the capacity of workers and businesses is enhanced.”
He further added, “Paying a miserable national minimum wage portends grave danger to not only the workforce but the national economy as in truth, economies of most states are driven by workers’ wages.
“In light of this, we urge the governors to do a re-think and save the country from a certain death.”
