Barely two days to the deadline given by the Nigeria Organised Labour to states to conclude negotiations on the implementation of the N30,000 new National Minimum Wage, some state governors have started a last-minute rush to meet the cut-off date of the labour union.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had in a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting with the state council chairmen last week said it would not be able to guarantee industrial peace and harmony in states that failed to conclude negotiations and began payment of the new minimum wage by December 31, 2019.
In the communiqué, which was jointly signed by the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba; General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja; and the National Chairperson of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (Trade Union side), Simon Anchaver; the NLC said states that had yet to commence negotiation might experience industrial disharmony from January if the governors refuse to do the needful.
As of the said date, the NLC noted that while states like Kaduna, Lagos, Kebbi and Adamawa had begun payment, some others like Kano, Abia and about nine others had constituted negotiating committees. Others like Rivers, Ogun, Delta, Plateau, Gombe and about 14 others had yet to set up a negotiating committees.
The new minimum wage Act was signed into law on April 18, 2019, by President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, while Cross River, Taraba, and Ondo states have set up committees to negotiate with the unions before the deadline, Oyo, Gombe and Imo states have not shown commitment to meet up with the deadline.
Also, Benue, Enugu, Bayelsa and Ebonyi states have ruled out the possibility of meeting up with the deadline.
Kwara State
In Kwara State, Mr Rafiu Ajakaye, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, said the governor had shown commitment to meeting the deadline by constituting the minimum wage 15-member committee earlier to work out the modalities for the implementation of the new minimum wage.
Also, a member of the implementation committee and state Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kolawole Olumoh, last week, said: “We have commenced negotiations with the state government and Insha Allah, we are going to meet the deadline. Though some states, including Kwara, have paid the December salaries of their workers, since we have commenced negotiations in our case, I’m sure we are going to meet the deadline.”
Delta State
In Delta State, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Fidelis Tilije, promised that the committee would conclude seating on the matter by Tuesday (December 31).
He said, “We have been meeting and already negotiating with labour. I’m so sure by Monday or Tuesday, we must have resolved completely, and should be able to come up with the final agreed minimum wage pay for Delta State.”
Also, the state Secretary of NLC, Mr Innocent Ofoeyeadi, said, “We are engaged in dialogue with the committee of the state government and they would have to pay the new minimum wage this December. But because of the issues of figures in the proposal, it will not reflect until we resolve them.”
Edo State
In Edo State, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said the state government had already set up a committee on the implementation of the salary scale.
Meanwhile, the NLC chairman in the state, Mr Sunny Osayande, said there was no cause for alarm, adding that they were praying for the governor to be able to implement the new scale in December.
He added, “The governor is working seriously I must confess to you even though he is not talking. By the grace of God, Edo will meet the December 31 deadline with the work ongoing right now in the state. We have met him already and he has assured us.
“He said they should work out how much is involved and we discovered that what we are going to add to it is going to be very minimal, so there is no cause for alarm,” he said.
Katsina State
In Katsina State, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Labour and Productivity, Mallam Tanimu Saulawa, said the state was optimistic about the fruitful outcome of its current negotiation with the state chapter of the NLC before the December 31 deadline.
