Governors are part of new minimum wage negotiation, says salaries commission

Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Richard Egbule, yesterday confirmed that all state governors are part of the negotiation for a new minimum wage for workers in country.

He said all civil servants across the country would have to exercise a little more patience, as details of the new minimum wage would not be ready by January 2018.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Textiles Workers Union in Kaduna, Egbule noted that the commission just had its inaugural meeting and that it would soon hold a meeting of the new minimum wage.

His words: “I am happy this time, we will be having the active participation of the governors. A governor will represent each zone during the negotiation of the new minimum wage.

“It is a very serious issue and we are expecting other stakeholders to contribute in order to ensure that an acceptable minimum wage is put in place for the workers.

Besides, Egbule commended the Federal Government for its efforts to address the issue of workers welfare, saying: “In spite of the challenges, the present administration has been trying to pay workers salaries and emoluments.”

He also said that workers had not been retrenched, pointing out that state governments should emulate the Federal Government in this regard.

While receiving members of the commission, Secretary General of the textiles workers, Comrade Issa Aremu, said since the inception of the National Union of Textiles Garment and Tailoring Workers Union (NUTGTWN) about 40 years ago, they had 48 collective agreements with their employers without a single strike embarked upon by the union.

“We can partner with the commission in our efforts to resolve the lingering issues of better conditions of service, as well as improved welfare package for public and private sector workers,” he said.

Aremu, who is also a commissioner in the commission, commended the Federal Government for embarking on reforms that are currently yielding positive results like the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.