Minimum wage: We’ll pay N22, 500 — Govs • Workers protest nationwide, insist on N30,000
State governors yesterday in Abuja held an emergency meeting over the proposed new minimum wage and resolved to pay N22,500.
Earlier yesterday, workers had held protest rallies nationwide and insisted on N30,000 as new minimum wage.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdul’aziz Yari Abubakar, said that governors felt strongly that the acceptable minimum wage must be done in such a way that total personnel cost did not exceed 50% of the revenue available to each state.
He said this was also in lieu of the fact that Section 3 of the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission Act provides that “the Commission shall recommend a proposition of income growth which should be initiated for wage increase and also examined the salary structure in public and private sector with reasonable features of relativity and maximum levels which are in consonance with the national economy”.
Yari said the welfare of all Nigerians was the forum’s ultimate concern, adding that they were disturbed about the deteriorating economic situation experienced by the vulnerable segment of the population.
“In agreeing to a National Minimum Wage however, the forum is even more concerned about development, particularly in the health, education and infrastructure spheres,” he said.
He said the forum agreed that since the percentage of salaried workers was not more than 5 percent of the total working population, their position must not just reflect a figure, but also a sustainable strategy based on ability and capacity to pay “as well as reflective of all our developmental needs in each state.”
The governors were earlier briefed by the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige and the Minnister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma.
There were protests nationwide earlier yesterday by the labour unions insisting on N30, 000 minimum wage.
The labour tagged protest rally tagged as “National Day of Mourning and Outrage” to drive home its demand for a new national minimum wage of N30,000.
Leading the protest were NLC President Ayuba Wabba and his counterpart Bobboi Kaigama.
Wabba said Nigerian workers received the lowest salaries in the world, whereas “our president, governors, legislators, ministers and councillors are among the highest paid in the world.”
Also at a protest rally in Lagos, labour urged Nigerians to stockpile food items at home, saying it was necessary to prepare Nigerians ahead of strike to compel governments to pay the 30,000 minimum wage agreed upon by the tripartite committee.
ULC President, Joe Ajaero, reiterated that N30,000 is not negotiable.
Meanwhile, the governors of Edo, Bayelsa, Jigawa and Bayelsa states indicated that they would abide by the decision of the NGF on the issue. TUC Bala