By Our Reporter
As the economy bites harder and the wages and salaries of the Nigerian worker is being eroded by inflation, the Nigerian Labour Unions have called for an increase in the take home pay in adjustment for inflation, while urging that government should ensure full compliance by the affected institutions.
Although, the unions are yet to reach a consensus on the minimum wage, the chairman of the Kano State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Kabir Inuwa, has warned that if and when the decisions are made and the law is enacted, the Federal Government must ensure compliance from all concerned.
Speaking at the hearing held at the Coronation Hall, Government House, where a minimum wage of N485,000 was proposed by the North West chapter of the union, Inuwa argued that the proposed minimum wage was necessary considering the realities of the times.
“The congress thinks that for any minimum wage to achieve its purpose it must reflect the realities of the economic situation and accordingly assess the least income that would be sufficient for the survival of a family of six,” Inuwa said.
The NLC chairman said that the Minimum Wage Act provides all the protection required to ensure compliance.
“This may be initiated by an individual or trade unions. The lack of awareness of the existing laws constitutes rampant contravention of the law most especially by some state and local governments. If the labour unions can initiate a mechanism to explore the provision of the law, would record minimum defaults.
He urged the Federal Government to ensure compliance by withholding all allocations to any state or public institutions that contravened the minimum wage law. Governors of the North-West zone were absent apart from Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, who sent a representative, and the host governor, who was represented by his deputy, Abdulssalam Gwarzo.
Meanwhile the different Labour Unions ; the NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, are proposing divergent minimum wage in the various states. In the South West, the NLC and TUC are opting for N794,000 and N497,000 respectively, while in the South east chapter, the workers are advocating for N540,000 and N447,000 by both the NlC and The TUC. Workers in the South South are no different; they are pressing for a minimum wage of N850,000.
It is, however, undecided yet, what the minimum wage will be, but indications are rife, that not all the state governors will be able to implement the minimum wage given their peculiarities.
How the government and labour unions hope to resolve this, when consensus is eventually reached on the minimum wage is anyone’s guess.