‘Brace up for strike', Labour calls

A coalition of organised labour and civil society groups, called LASCO, has stated, Monday, that Lagos State will not be exempted from the proposed three-day national warning strike called to press for the implementation of N18, 000 minimum wage.


At a rally held in Yaba, Lagos, the group restated its resolve to commence the proposed national warning strike on Wednesday, urging all workers in Lagos to also comply.

There had been some uncertainty over whether workers in the state would be called to join in the strike, as the state government had repeatedly claimed that it is already implementing the minimum wage.
Over the weekend, the state head of service, Adesegun Ogunlewe, also pleaded with the state civil servants to ignore the warning strike, saying the state was implementing the new wage, even above the stipulated amount.

‘No minimum wage yet in Lagos'
However, the group joint secretary, Abiodun Aremu, stated that the proposed warning strike would be observed by workers in all states across the country, disputing that Lagos workers are earning the new minimum wage.
"Some forms of negotiations that took place in Lagos with workers were not minimum wage negotiations. So once minimum wage is implemented, Lagos State government will be expected to do the adjustment relative to what is contained in the minimum wage law," Mr Aremu said.
Idowu Adelakun, the acting chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), also said that "strategies are being put in place across the state to ensure that workers comply with the strike."
Some of the group's executives also argued that Mr Ogunlewe's claims were false, as the state is not paying the N18, 000 minimum wage across board.
It will be recalled that the minimum wage bill was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan on March 23, 2011, after about three years of negotiations involving government and workers' representatives.

Between the federal and state governments
However, there is an ongoing tussle between labour unions and the various arms of government over the implementation of the minimum wage law.
While the federal government is only ready to fully implement the minimum wage for workers from grade levels one to six, its state counterparts are calling for more allocation from the federal account or the removal of fuel subsidy, as condition for the implementation of the labour unions' demands.
Mr Aremu described government's inaction over the implementation of the minimum wage as "impeachable, irresponsible, and insincere", saying governments are meant to obey laws.
"It's sad that after three months of signing this law, we should be forcing the government to obey the law. However, the strike will take place across the country. We are also very sad to have to draw the workers out to make the government obey the law," he said.
Also speaking on the issue, the general secretary of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), Segun Sango, urged the public to blame the government for any consequence suffered as a result the strike.

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