The leadership of Nigeria’s labour movement has perfected plans to resist ongoing moves to remove issues of minimum wage from the exclusive list, insisting that it portends danger for workers in the country.
The National Assembly plans to move the minimum wage to the concurrent list in its review of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, by removing the sentence ‘prescribing a national minimum wage for the Federation or any part thereof’ to Part II.
The Senate Committee on the Amendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ekeremadu recently submitted its Report to the Senate.
In the report, the committee recommended that the constitution promulgated into law by the General Abdusalami Abubakar Federal Military Government under Decree No.24 of May 5, 1999, which it says is an aberration, be further amended.
In the report, matters relating to prisons, railways, stamp duties and wages are recommended for removal from the exclusive legislative list, which contains items over which the National Assembly (or the Federal Government) has exclusive legislative authority. They are to be transferred to the Concurrent Legislative.
This means that where the report is accepted by the Senate, and later the House of Representatives and the requisite number of concurring votes by the States’ House of Assembly are secured, it would allow for a further amendment of the constitution. Consequently, both the Federal Government and State Governments will be able to separately run their prisons, while the States would also be empowered to operate intra state and inter-state railways, and fix intra-state wages, with no more fresh agitations to worry about, because of its implication for the national minimum wage, fixed under the National Minimum Wage Act.
Labour kicks
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar while kicking against the proposal, argued that the removal will unnecessarily expose Nigerian workers, especially those in the low-income bracket, with grave implications for security, productivity and national well-being. Most state governments if given the latitude, he continued, will pay wages as low as N1,000 per month, in spite of the relative enormous resources available to them.
He emphasised that the removal of minimum wage law from the Exclusive List will unnecessarily expose Nigerian workers, especially, those in the low-income bracket with grave implications for security, productivity and national well-being
“The removal minimum wage law from the Exclusive List will unnecessarily expose Nigerian workers, especially, those in the low-income bracket with grave implications for security, productivity and national well-being, as most state governments if given the latitude, will pay wages as low as one thousand Naira per month in spite of the relative enormous resources available to them”, he said.
“This fear is justified or underscored by the reluctance or refusal of some of them to implement the eighteen thousand Naira minimum wage law. Even for some of them that implemented the law, it took a heroic struggle”, he added
“Beside the issue of wages, lies other equally serious challenges of legislation, organisation and administration of labour relations justice system as contained in item 34 , Exclusive Legislative List, Second Schedule, 1999 Constitution (as amended). It will be an invitation to confusion, chaos, possible anarchy in the polity and judicial nightmare”, he further said.
According to Omar, “the NLC is strongly opposed to the putting on the Concurrent List the minimum wage law to ensure a minimum national standard as in most civilized economies; and to Secure protection for the weakest and most vulnerable workers.
“In our memorandum to the National Assembly on the review of the 1999 constitution, we had canvassed for the retention of the law on the Exclusive List to amongst others, secure protection for the weakest and most vulnerable workers”, he recalled
“We had explained that even in countries with shared jurisdiction as in the United States, the minimum wage prescribed by the states is much higher than the national one”, he added.
“We also advised that the issue of the minimum wage protection for workers should not be confused with the issue of fiscal federalism as the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum was oft heard to say that the prescription of a national wage by the federal government violates the principle of true federalism”, he insisted.
“We still firmly subscribe to this position as nothing has changed. If anything , we would want the Senate to appreciate the fact that in spite of the unjustifiably-resisted national minimum wage law of N18, 000, Nigerian workers remain among the least paid in the world, especially when juxtaposed with national currency wages and salaries based on purchasing power parity”, he affirmed
Rising cost of living
The Labour leader also insisted that the “living costs have more than quadrupled wiping out the initial gains of the wage increase as inflation gallops on two digits and food, utility, transportation and accommodation costs shoot through the roof. Compounding the situation is the rising army of dependents due to the growing unemployment”.
He however said “we call on the Senate to retrace its steps and be on the side of reason, people, justice and history by ensuring that the minimum wage law remains on the Exclusive List. We make this call in the interest of industrial peace and harmony, enhanced productivity and national security”
Also, TUC’s President General, Bobboi Kaigama in his statement, believes if states were allowed to determine what they pay to their workers “it means the future of the Nigerian workers has been mortgaged.”
He said the issue of wage should remain in the exclusive list in order to ensure a peaceful industrial atmosphere, he further proposed a significant restructuring of the revenue allocation formula in favour of the states so that they can effectively shoulder the added responsibility of increased wage payment.
“As it stands now, the average Nigerian worker is struggling to survive. As such, if states are allowed to determine what they pay to their workers it means the future of the Nigerian workers have been mortgaged. Over the years, the claim by defaulting governments has that they cannot pay the N18,000 minimum wage because they are not oil producing states, whereas a sitting senator from Kaduna state earns the same salary and allowances as does a sitting senator from the Niger Delta. For us these arguments are baseless because what is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander.
“The congress wishes to advise that to ensure peaceful industrial atmosphere, the issue of wage should remain in the exclusive list so that states do not mortgage the destinies of workers and their wards,” he however added.
Intellectual debate
Similarly, Secretary of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Alade Lawal, while calling on the Nigerian workers to be vigilant urged the legislators to engage in deep intellectual debate before embarking on the amendment of the constitution or initiating laws that will jeopardise the stability of the country.
Highlighting the flaws inherent in the Senate’s proposed amendment to transfer wage bill from the Exclusive Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution as amended to in the Concurrent, the union argued that such action would further impoverish workers and their dependents adding that many state governments would want to pay as low as N5,000 minimum wage to their workers.
He recalled a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing that about 112 million Nigerians live below the poverty line and advised the Senate to focus more on how to alleviate poverty among the citizens rather than compounding the situation.
The union contended that if wage was deregulated, it would affect related matters in item 34 on the Exclusive Legislative List in the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution. Such matters are labour related and they include trade unions, industrial relation; conditions, safety and welfare of labour; industrial disputes; prescribing a national minimum wage for the federation or any part thereof; and industrial arbitrations.
“Since the 2011 National Minimum Wage of N18,000 per month was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan, many state governors have refused to implement it but prefer to be paying their workers peanuts. Since most of the senators were sponsored by the state governors, it is not unlikely that they are under pressure to deregulate wage so that their principals can begin to pay paltry sums as salaries far less that the N18,000 monthly National Minimum Wage to their workers.
“While Senators from oil producing states of Delta and Bayelsa, for instance, earned the same emoluments with Senators from Ekiti and Zamfara States and ditto for the governors, the Senate have not deemed it fit to deregulate these remunerations fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission yet it is bent on deregulating N18,000 monthly National Minimum Wage for workers. We urge the Senate to reverse itself on this matter and demonstrate for once that it is not only preoccupied with legislations that benefit its members,” he stressed.
Season of strike
Also, the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) led by Comrade Segun Sango, compelled by the fresh wave of strike actions by workers in educational institutions, and the planned transfer of minimum wage, called on the leadership of the NLC and TUC to mobilize for a 48-hour general strike and mass protests in rallying a mass movement of workers, students and youth to save Nigeria.
According to SPN, two of the workers’ unions in polytechnics (ASUP and SSANIP) have been on a two-month long strike action without any response from the Federal Government over the non-implementation of agreement reached with government since 2009 and to protest the near collapse of polytechnic education.
“The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) since June 1 has been on a sit-at-home strike in the states where the Teachers’ Peculiar Allowance (TPA) has not been implemented. While the strike has been suspended in some states, it is still on in some others. The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) told the press that it has been forced by the non-compliance of government to the 2009 Agreement reached with the union to embark on indefinite strike action. The central demands of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, apart from pay increase also boil down to the need to revamp university education in Nigeria”, it said.
“ Also, the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), though suspended a three-day warning strike it had started to protest the anti-labour policies of the oil multinationals operating in Nigeria”, it added.
According to SPN ,the strike actions by the education workers’ unions on the parlous state of education in the country places the burden on the leadership of the two labour centres to come to the centre stage in the struggle to save education from collapse in Nigeria.
“Equally, students protesting against anti-poor policies of the school management face police brutality which occasionally results in death of students as in the case of Nassarawa State University and University of Uyo”, it said.
“The leadership of the labour movement must rise to initiate the united mass movement of education workers, students and youth by calling a full-blown 48-hour general strike with mass protests against attacks on education and police brutality. In calling a 48 hour general strike, the leadership of the labour movement would step up the pressure on government to meet their demands as against the grave silence it has maintained to the demands of the unions”, it added.
The SPN however “called on ASUU, SSANIP, ASUP and NUT not to limit their strike actions to sit-at-home strike but build mass actions with students fighting in solidarity in order to avoid defeat of the strike. This would require organizing mass activities like public meetings, rallies and protest marches side by side with mass circulation of leaflets to sensitize students and various sections of the working people on the demands of their strike actions and thereby mobilise their support”
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