The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has cautioned state governments against announcing a minimum wage that is not negotiated with organized labour at the state level.
President of Congress, Festus Osifo, who stated this in Abuja while speaking at the end of the National Executive Council meeting of the central labour body, explained that minimum wage is not a stand-alone wage structure, but also the consequential adjustment of wages that involves other categories of workers.
His words: “Since the Minimum Wage Act was assigned into law in July, a lot of states have started making pronouncements, announcing different figures as their minimum wage. The issue is not just about the N70,000 or more. There is the issue of consequential adjustment. Most of the states that have announced the new minimum wage are yet to put machinery in motion to negotiate the consequential adjustment. This is why the minimum wage has to be negotiated because of the resultant wage adjustment that ought to happen after every minimum wage is announced.”
The TUC boss who bemoaned the industrial dispute over wages in Cross River and Zamfara states, urged the two states to be responsive to the welfare of its workers.
He explained that the Zamfara state government is yet to set up a committee that will negotiate the minimum wage, saying, “There is no conversation going on currently in Zamfara State on how the new minimum wage will be implemented and how the consequential adjustment would be negotiated. So, we are hereby calling on the government of Zamfara to emulate what is happening in the state that is very close to it.”
Whereas it is the prerogative of governments to introduce taxes, TUC cautioned state governments against introducing taxes that will further impoverish the people despite a raise in the minimum wage.
Osifo said the TUC welcomes the growth in the economy but observed that upon disaggregation, service and banking sectors contributing over 50 per cent, it is discomforting that agricultural, manufacturing and the real sectors are lagging.
He urged the fiscal and monetary authorities to encourage the banks to lend to the real sector to grow the economy even as the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria raised the interest rate from 27.50 per cent to 27.25 per cent adding 25 basis points in the process.
With further tightening of the economy, the monetary authorities sacrifice the cost of borrowing for an influx of portfolio investment and taming inflation.
Amid the prevailing economic decisions of the CBN, Osifo stressed the need for the government to encourage banks to lend much more to the real sector of the economy, saying it is the real sector that generates employment, which Nigeria desperately needs.
He added: “We hereby call on the government through CBN to come up with robust policies that will encourage the banking sector to lend much more to the real sector of the economy at a reasonable rate so that more jobs are created.”
The Nigerian workers’ umbrella body said it is shocked that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) could use the one-hour-a-week job as a base to qualify anyone as ‘working’.
Osifo noted that before the NBS invented its new formula, the unemployment figure in the country hovered around 35 per cent which was closer to the reality.
He said: “Unemployment in Nigeria was well above 35 per cent before NBS came with its new formula. It now says if any Nigerian works for one hour in a week, such a person has a job.”
So, how can a man who is working one hour a week be categorized as having a job? What can a man who has one hour a week be able to put on the table for his family? So, MBS should reflect on their characterization. It is not just good for you to say that the number of Nigerians that are unemployed is about four per cent when the Bureau and Nigerians know that, that is not the best standard that is being used the world over.”
