The resolution made by the organised labour to call off last week’s nationwide strike appears to be a temporary one as they are prepared to initiate another strike action without notice following the hiccups that have greeted the agreements they reached with the state and federal governments.
A cross-section of labour leaders across the country threatened on Saturday night that they would make trouble if any state government reneged on the deal and that they were prepared to ‘take what is due to us as prescribed by the law.’
Shortly after the strike, the state governors demanded that their share of the federal allocation be increased by 55 per cent because what they are getting from the national purse cannot pay the new minimum wage.
The governors who contended that the minimum wage would stress them beyond their financial capability intensified their call for a review of the revenue allocation formula in the country.
Labour leaders on Saturday however said they were not bothered about how the governors sourced the money to pay the new wage and that they were not convinced that the states didn’t have enough money in their coffers.
The President General of the TUC, Mr. Peter Esele, and the acting General Secretary of the NLC, Mr. Owei Lakemfa, told our correspondent that it was not labour’s business to meddle with how states raised money to pay the minimum wage.
The labour leaders argued that they shared the position that the state governors had enough money to pay the new wage and this position had not changed.
They then warned that labour would not hesitate to cripple the activities of any state that failed to pay the new wage in line with the agreement that culminated in the calling off of the strike on Tuesday night.
Esele said that labour would not give any further notice for strike if the Federal and state governments reneged in honouring the terms of the agreement it reached with labour leaders.
He said, “Let me make it clear here that if the FG and the states renege in paying the minimum wage, the next line of action is to go on strike. And let me say that we will not give any notice before we proceed on strike and there can only be discussions after the strike.
“We hope that well meaning Nigerians who were expressing concern over the planned warning strike can now prevail on the Federal Government and the states to pay the minimum wage.”
Similarly, Lakemfa, said that reneging on the agreement would not guarantee industrial harmony in the society.
He insisted that the states were under obligation to pay the new wage to their workers and said that “the labourer deserves his wages.”
KADUNA
The NLC Vice-President, Issa Aremu, who spoke from Kaduna, also said that the failure of any governor or any employee of labour to abide by the terms of the agreement between them and labour would result in the resumption of the suspended mass action by the union.
Aremu who is also the general secretary of the Nigeria Union of Textile Garments and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, said, “We advise the employers both in the public and private sectors to comply with the minimum wage Act.
“Trouble certainly awaits any employer including state governors who refuse to implement the minimum wage. The suspended industrial action awaits any state governor who refuses to comply with the agreement.”
Anambra
In Anambra, the state council of the NLC said that it was waiting for the directive of the national headquarters on the line of action to take should the state government fail to implement the new minimum wage.
The state Chairman of the NLC, Mr. Patrick Obianyo, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the state government was yet to commit itself to the payment of the new minimum wage, even though the governor and his aides had repeatedly promised to abide by the law on the new wage.
Obianyo said labour was waiting for negotiations on the new wage with government, but government was not forthcoming.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr. Maja Umeh, who also spoke on the issue, said the state government would not take a unilateral position on the new minimum wage, since the Governors of the South-East states had decided to take a common position.
Umeh added that the resources of the state government could not support the new wage if it was implemented across board.
With a current average allocation of N2bn a month, Umeh said the state would need N3.6bn to pay the new minimum wage every month.
Ondo
In Ondo State where the strike is in action, the Chairman of the state’s NLC, Mrs. Bosede Daramola, said that the workers were protesting the government’s refusal to pay the N14,000 salary relativity structure being enjoyed by their colleagues in other states.
She said, “We have not started any discussion with the state government on the issue of N18,000 minimum wage and the discussions on the relativity issue had since ended in a deadlock.
“The government is yet to invite us for further discussion but I can assure you that we will not settle for anything less than the N14,000 relativity salary for the minimum wage implementation.”
RIVERS
In Rivers State, the Trade Union Congress told our correspondent that it would not go beyond the agreement reached with labour and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum on the implementation of the new minimum wage.
EDO
The President of the state chapter of the NLC in Edo state, Emma Adamokun, however commended the governor for approving payment of the wage.
Posing for photographs shortly after sealing the agreement with the governor, Adamokun said, “Everyone is satisfied now.”
Senior Special Adviser on Media to Governor Oshiomhole, Tony Iyare, said that the state was not contemplating retrenching its workers, adding that “prudent management of resources had always been our style. We micro-manage our resources.”
OYO
Arising from the protracted face-off over non-implementation of the controversial N18,000 minimum wage with the state government, the Oyo State chapter of the NLC called off its four-day strike on Saturday night.
Although the union agreed to call off the strike, their demand which sparked off the action was not eventually met.
SUNDAY PUNCH’s finding showed that the Nigerian Governors Forum led by the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, prevailed on the leadership of the organised labour to accede to their demand to pay the wage without arrears to the senior cadre of workers earning over N18,000.
The outcome of the prolonged debate between the governors and the hard fighting labour team was captured in a clause of agreement reached at the meeting held at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation last Tuesday.
“The 36 states agree that the effective date for the implementation of the minimum wage shall not be later than August 1, 2011 provided that any worker who earned less than N18,000 between April 1 and the effective date of the implementation of the new minimum wage shall be paid arrears,” the agreement read in part.
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thats the way to go!!!
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