According to the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, the workers will embark on an indefinite industrial action starting from Monday, September 28, 2020 nationwide.

Coming under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, the workers announced the decision on Tuesday after a meeting of the National Executive Council of the NLC.

The meeting which was held on Tuesday in Abuja was attended by the chairpersons of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

The meeting approved the decision to embark on the strike as decided last Wednesday by the Central Working Committee, CWC.

Recall that the labour unions and the Federal Government held a meeting last week over the hike in prices of petrol and electricity.

After the meeting which achieved no result, the workers gave the government two weeks to reverse the increase in the prices or be ready to face their wrath.

Following the increase in price, petrol now sells between N158 and N162 per litre while electricity tariff rose from from N30.23 to N62.33 per kwh.

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JNPSNC General Secretary, Trade Union Side, Mr Alade Lawal, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the organised labour would decide on a next line of action towards the issue of the minimum wage, saying in due time, Nigerians would be informed.

“The meeting is deadlocked, we found out that the Federal Government officials are not serious about it at all, we are suspecting foul play or a hidden agenda somewhere.

“We have decided to report the development to our principals, including the Labour unions, Nigerians will be adequately briefed of our next line of action very shortly.”

Chairman of the Labour team, Mr Simon Anchaver, said labour negotiating team had also resolved to write to the Nigeria Labour congress and the trade union congress, TUC on their advice to consider an industrial action.

He said government’s foot-dragging was an invitation to industrial action, since workers are already engulfed in fear and agitations whether their accumulated arrears would be paid when talks are finally concluded.

The Head of Service, Winifred Oyo-Ita, chaired the meeting, and the acting Chairman, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, is the Secretary of the negotiating council.

It would be recalled that the new minimum wage bill was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in April.

However, deliberations continued as the issue of relativity/consequential adjustment of salaries still persisted.

The Federal Government had on May 14 inaugurated the Relativity/Consequential Adjustment Committee which in turn set up a Technical Sub-Committee to work out the template for the adjustment of salaries of Public Service Employees.

In a meeting between the government and labour last month (August), government proposed a 10 per cent increment for level seven to 14 and a 5.5 per cent increment for level 15 to 17.

Egbule, immediate past Chairman, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, had attributed the delay in the implementation of the “consequential adjustment” of the N30,000 new minimum wage to the unrealistic demands of labour unions.

Egbule explained that the current demand of the labour unions would raise the total wage bill too high and that was why government could not accept their proposed salary adjustments.

But labour turned down government’s offer, proposing 30 per cent increase for levels seven to 14 and 25 per cent for levels 15 to 17.

The JNPSNC declined the offer, saying that since the increase in wage from N18, 000 to N30, 000 was 66 per cent, they wanted 66 per cent increment across board for all workers.

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NLC National President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, told News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja on Thursday that the negotiations were still ongoing.

He said even although the NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, were not directly involved in the negotiations, they would step in if any disagreement occurred.

It would be recalled that the new minimum wage bill was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in April.

However, deliberations were ongoing as the issue of relativity/consequential adjustment of salaries still persisted.

The Federal Government had on May 14 inaugurated the relativity/Consequential Adjustment Committee which in turn set up a Technical Sub-Committee to work out the template for the adjustment of salaries of Public Service Employees.

However, with negotiations resuming on August 14, Wabba noted that Nigerian workers had waited so long for the new minimum wage.

Wabba said people would want to see an end for its full implementation, adding that it was the desire of the organised labour that that became a reality.

“In spite of that the NLC and TUC are not directly involved during the process of consequential adjustment, the process is ongoing; because I read in the papers of how people were saying it had stopped.

“The report that I read from the Joint Negotiating Council is that they are meeting, and if there is any stalemate we will be informed and will step in to assist and all the details of their discussions have been made public.’’

Wabba said that the delay on the issue was not caused by the NLC.

“For anybody on that table to come and say that labour is the one delaying the process he/she is not saying the obvious.

“This is because I learnt that the person that made the statement is the chairman of the technical committee; so clearly speaking, I think it is not in good faith.

“I think also that workers are becoming very concerned, including us because the process must actually have an end where workers will benefit.

“How can a worker or unions that are at the receiving end be the ones delaying the process.

“For us as a union we wanted this money to be in workers pockets long before now.’’

Recall that Chief Richard Egbule, the Chairman, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, attributed the delay in the implementation of the “consequential adjustment” of the N30,000 new minimum wage to the “unrealistic” demands of labour unions.

Egbule explained that the current demand of the labour unions would raise the total wage bill too high and that was why government could not accept their proposed salary adjustments.

“Labour is asking for consequential adjustment and government in its wisdom had made budgetary provision for an adjustment of N10,000 across the board for those already earning above N30,000 per month.

“However, the unions have refused this offer, saying that because the increase in minimum wage from 18,000 to N30, 000 was 66 per cent, therefore they want 66 per cent increment across the board.

“We told them that the minimum wage was not raised from N18, 000 to N30, 000 through percentage increase but as a result of consideration of economic factors including ability to pay.”

Responding to the claim, Secretary of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, Alade Lawal, said the government was trying to force labour to accept its proposal, adding that such would only make workers poorer.

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Governor Okowa made the call on Monday in Asaba when the President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, led members of the union to pay him a congratulatory visit.

According to the governor, “Nigeria is in such a state that we need the cooperation of all to be able to succeed and I think that when we get into national discourse, it is important for us to think nationally and to be able to offer our ideas to government.”

“I also  believe that no one person has all the answers;   there is a lot that the workers can actually bring to the table when it concerns national development; so,  I want to plead that in the course of your engagement with government, beyond the issues of workers welfare, it is necessary to talk about Nigeria and its economy; it is important to offer solutions as to what you think can be done to make this country better because,  it is our responsibility, our contributions and prayers that  will help grow this nation far beyond where it is today,” he said, adding, “no matter what the challenges we may be facing as a country,  I still see a bright future for our nation and it is going to involve the collective will of all Nigerians to decide that we need to stay committed to this nation and to do our best to make this nation great.”

The governor who commended the NLC for the congratulatory visit, attributed most of the successes recorded by his administration to the cooperation of Deltans and the organized labour, stating, “our workers have done a lot for us; I cannot ask for a greater partnership because I believe that they are partnering with us in all aspect of governance and I am truly proud of them.”

“I always tell them (workers) that the fact that you are partners and sitting down to talk with government does not take anything away from you, rather, it helps to provide even more help because, if there is openness,  there will be understanding;  sometimes changes do not occur immediately, but we can always think together and structure the implementation of whatever needs to be done and that helps in bettering the governance of the state and it also helps to improve communication between the government and workers and vice versa,” the governor stated.

He took time to enumerate some of the achievements of his administration and what had spurred him in taking some actions as solutions, asserting that his administration would at all times, take decisions that would be of benefit to all Deltans and humanity.

Earlier, the President of the NLC had said the congratulatory visit was necessary because of the friendly disposition of Governor Okowa to issues concerning workers.

“I have a lot on records to justify my statement that you (Governor Okowa) run a labour-friendly government; your leadership has proven that where there is the will, God will prepare the way as you have ensured prompt payment of salaries, the contributory health insurance scheme which has made healthcare facilities available to workers, provision of houses for workers, taking care of the needs of pensioners, among numerous others are worthy of commendation,” Comrade Wabba said.

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NLC president, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, gave the signal of a showdown  at the end of an emergency meeting of the Central Working Committee, CWC, of the NLC on Thursday in Abuja.

According to Wabba, the protest is against the action of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige who allegedly engaged thugs to disrupt workers’ peaceful protest on Wednesday.

He, therefore, demanded an apology from the minister and the Federal Government over the action it said infringed on the fundamental right of workers to protest.

Wabba called for the inauguration of the board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NISTF), with Mr Frank Kokori as its Chairman without further delay.

The NLC members were on Wednesday dispersed at Ngige residence, with nine persons injured.

The workers had gone there to picket the house over the delay by the minister to inaugurate the board of the NSITF.

Meanwhile, Ngige has given the leadership of the NLC seven days to apologise for the invasion of his private residence.

Ngige said this in a statement by Mr Nwachukwu Obidiwe, his Special Assistant on Media.

Accoding to him, the minister was consulting on the appropriate legal actions against the illegality by the NLC.

“The thrust of today’s press conference by the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Ayuba Waba is predictable.

“Hence, we succinctly wish to respond that the sanctity of the provisions of section 37 of the 1999 constitution on the rights of all Nigerians to private life cannot be annulled by an inferior provisions of the Labour Act on picketing.

“The invasion and obstruction of the private residence of the Minister of Labour and Employment, preventing him, his wife, children and families of his personal aides, quartered in the same compound and throwing them into huge trauma, is illegal and inexcusable under the guise of unionism.

“His conduct is arson with a clear intention to cause maximum destruction,” he said.

He added that it was outside the ambit of NLC powers to issue directives to the Federal Government on how to carry out its responsibilities.

He, however, said that plans were on for the inauguration of the board of the NSITF, and it would take place soonest.

Source:  NAN

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Receiving the leadership of organised labour which came to felicitate with him on his electoral victory at State House, Abuja, Thursday, the President said the current administration met a country with dilapidated infrastructure all round in 2015, and it called to serious question what the party that was in power for 16 years did with the country’s money from oil, which reached a peak during the period.

“PDP has not successfully explained to the country what they did with the money,” President Buhari said. “There were no roads, no rail, no power. They said they spent $16 billion on power, but where is the power? The irresponsible expenditure of that period has not been explained, and Nigerians deserve an answer on that terrible mismanagement of the country.”

The President thanked organised labour “for the support and patriotism you have shown during the presidential election, especially after the unexpected postponement. You and your members stepped in to support willing Nigerians to exercise their civic and patriotic rights to vote. You intervened as patriots, and not for political, religious or tribal purposes. You simply did the right thing during a difficult period for many of us.”

On what Nigerians can look forward to in the next lap of the journey, President Buhari said he would continue pushing the Change Agenda, “and remain focused on our core pillars of security, economy, and fight against corruption.”

He urged organised labour to partner with the government to make the country peaceful, prosperous, and corruption free.

In his remarks, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, lauded the president for being worker-friendly as exemplified in the granting of bailout funds to state governments to pay backlog of salaries and pensions.

Said Wabba:  “We all remember the special bailout and budget support you introduced to support state governments during the recession. Your directive during this intervention was that state governments must offset accumulated arrears of salaries and pension liabilities. I remember you publicly asked state governors, ‘how do you manage to sleep at night when the salaries of workers in your state are not paid?’

“For us, that was one of the finest moments we have had with any President in this country… I can stand here today and say your intervention was the difference between life and death for many workers.”

The labour leader appealed to the National Assembly to earnestly pass the National Minimum Wage Act, while also asking the President to thereafter sign it into law within the shortest possible time.

Organised labour pledged to remain “veritable partner in progress with government,” counseling the President to continue to “make the Nigerian people, especially the poor, the centre-piece of your policy initiatives and actions.”

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This is as he congratulated Wabba and other members of the executive over their re-election and election.

The president whose message was sent through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said he wished the members of the executive success.

Wabba was returned as the president of NLC by delegates at the 12th Delegates Conference on Wednesday in Abuja.

He will be at the helm of affairs for the next four years.

It is his second term.

Amaechi Asugwuni, Muhammad Nadir Idris and Najim Usman Yasin, were elected unopposed as Deputy Presidents while Ibrahim Khaleel was elected National Treasurer.

Elected as Vice-Presidents were Abdrafiu Adeniji, Peters Adeyemi, Lawrence Amaechi and Oyelakan Lateef who was returned unopposed.

Marven Adamu, National Financial Secretary and Adewale Adeyanju, National Trustee, among others were elected as officials.

In his acceptance speech, Wabba promised to lead the union in the battle against the challenges confronting Nigerian workers.

He said the union would continue to conform to the tradition of the union and speak truth to those in power.

His words:  “We will dedicate ourselves to ensure that the challenges workers face are confronted headlong. Workers are treated as slaves while those that don’t even work hard take higher pay.

“The new leadership of NLC will respect the will of members and consolidate on what we are doing. We will continue to conform to the tradition of the union and speak the truth to those in power. The daily challenges of workers at workplaces will be confronted. We have been able to work assiduously in the past four years and we will move forward to build workers poser. I assure our members of our commitment and dedication to the resolutions of the conference.

“We can hold election without rancour if the interest is truly to serve the people of the country.”

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It has scheduled a meeting with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and other unions for Thursday.

The meeting will hold at the Ministry of Labour and Employment in Abuja.

This is according to the Director of Press in the ministry, Mr Samuel Olowookere, on Wednesday in Abuja.

His words:  “The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Executives of the Organised Labour Union on Jan. 4, at the Minister’s Conference Room by 10:30 am prompt.”

It would be recalled that the labour union had vowed to commence a nationwide strike on January 8 to force the Presidency forward the N30,000 minimum wage recommendation by the tripartite committee to the National Assembly for approval.

The decision followed the declaration by President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a technical committee to consider the recommendation of the tripartite committee before sending it to the National Assembly.

In one of its statements recently, the NLC president, Ayuba Wabba, declared that the only way the government could avert a nationwide strike over the new minimum wage controversy in the new year was to do the needful.

The needful, according him was to ensure the approval and implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage recommended by the tripartite committee set up by the government.

His words: “It is unfortunate that the Federal Government is yet to transmit to the National Assembly an executive bill for the enactment of N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

“Government’s dilly-dallying on the issue has strained Government-Labour relations with a potential for a major national strike which could just be days away.

“Accordingly, we would use this opportunity to appeal to the Government to do the needful by urgently transmitting the bill on the new national minimum wage to the National Assembly.

“We also would like to use this same opportunity to urge workers to fully mobilise for a prolonged national strike and enforce their right.”

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The action will be in protest of the refusal of the government to pay the N30,000 said to have been agreed upon at the tripartite committee set up over the new minimum wage.

The unions gave the warning of the strike when it became obvious that the government was not ready to pay the agreed amount.

The governors of the 36 states of the federation had on Tuesday under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, declared that they could afford to pay only N22,500 as the new minimum wage.

The amount is contrary to the amount the labour unions had agreed to.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the president of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, said the amount announced by the governors was not acceptable.

He said since they had refused to pay the N30,000, labour would go back to its original demand of N66,500 minimum wage.

Said he:  “We wish to reiterate our position adopted at our National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of 23rd October, 2018 that any figure below N30,000 will not be accepted by us.

“We call on our members to continue to mobilise in preparation for the commencement of an indefinite strike on the 6th of November, 2018, if by then necessary steps have not been taken to adopt the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee.”

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The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the United Labour Congress, ULC, gave the warning on Sunday at a press conference.

The labour unions said November 6 had been marked as the date for the commencement of the strike in case the Federal Government failed to yield.

The conference was addressed by the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba and ULC President, Joe Ajaero.

The labour unions said contrary to reports, labour agreed to a N30,000 as minimum wage as a compromise to show the willingness of the Nigerian workers to contribute to the development of the nation.

The union said the Federal Government proposed N24,000 while state governments suggested N20,000.

However, an agreement was reached to have N30,000.

The union leaders said in view of the wrong information being pushed out over the discussions at the meeting, it was imperative for the Organised Private Sector (OPS) which was also represented in the tripartite committee to speak on the issue.

 The labour leaders said:  “It is not true that we proposed N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

“It is also not true that the committee did not agree on a figure during its last sitting. We accepted N30,000 as a compromise to demonstrate the willingness of Nigerian workers to make sacrifices towards nation building.

“Keeping silent in the face of this apparent mischief does our nation no good. At this time the OPS does not have any other choice but to rise to the occasion by telling Nigerians what transpired in the meeting.

“What we are waiting for is for the federal government to immediately set in motion the necessary machinery for turning the agreement into a Bill for onward submission to the NASS where we expect the presidency to work together with the legislators to make it a law so that it can be implemented quickly.

“A day of national outrage and mourning which will be used to sensitise Nigerians on our plight and on the issues at stake. This shall take place in all states of the federation including Abuja on Tuesday, the 30th day of October, 2018.”

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