Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) President, Abdulwaheed Omar led several workers to the premises
of the National Assembly early Wednesday morning to protest against the Senate
move to remove the National Minimum Wage issue from the constitution.
The Senate had during the
constitution amendment process abrogated the National Minimum Wage from the
constitution by decentralizing and removing it from the Exclusive Legislative
list to the Concurrent Legislative list.
The protest, which began at about
10am from the Headquarters’ of the Nigeria Labour Congress saw the protesters
matching through the Federal Secretariat straight to the National Assembly.
Most of them carried placards with
various inscriptions such as, “Oppose a National Minimum Wage, lose workers’
votes; “Do not worsen the security problems, retain minimum wage on the
Exclusive List; “Minimum living wage, not slave wage; “stop playing politics
with the lives of workers, maintain labour on the exclusive list”.
The NLC President, Comrade Omar
accused the senators of under-representing the interest of the working class
who voted them into power.
He also queried the rationale for the
Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to fix national
salary scale for all political appointees, from the federal, state or local
governments and decentralising that of other workers in the country.
The NLC president described the
Senate’s position on minimum wage as ‘satanic and a catalyst to tyranny in the
country’, adding that decentralization of the National Minimum Wage in the
country was capable of discouraging national cohesion which the nation craves
for presently.
Comrade Oshiomhole, who suddenly
appeared around 11.00 a.m. and joined the protesters while on their way to the
National Assembly said he came to align with his primary constituency on the
minimum wage issue, just as he argued that there should be a national standard
on issues of emoluments for all workers in Nigeria.
The Edo State governor said: “I think
the issues today are very clear, when the Senate leadership comes out, we have
to interrogate them and there are about four or five grounds.
“Ground number one, if everybody must
be paid according to his ability, because we must take the message to every
home, every local government and every constituency, if a senator comes from a
rural local government where the people have no home, no water, no light, the
senator should be paid according to the average income of the constituency,
that is the logic.
“Senator representing an industrial
area where per capital income is higher, let him be paid according to the
income of his senatorial district. Senators from poor communities and senators
from rich communities come to Abuja and they earn the same allowances, they
cannot tell you to be paid according to your own state.
“Number two, if we must abolish
national wages, then we must abolish the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal
Commission. They cannot fix the salaries of councilors across the country from
Abuja, they cannot fix the salaries of commissioners from Abuja, they cannot
fix the salaries of governors from Abuja, if they must fix them from Abuja,
they must maintain the national minimum wage.
“Number three, if they want us to go
confederal, the National Assembly should have no business legislating on
matters affecting states, let every state legislate according to his own
resources, while the national assembly should provide national legislation, set
national standards, national standards on education, health, tourism and even
on cheating. I need you to understand that nobody will fight for you if you do
not fight for yourselves.
Later on, the Senate leadership
succumbed to the wishes of the workers, as the Senate President, David Mark,
promised and assured the protesting workers that the upper chamber will rescind
its earlier decision which abrogated the National Minimum Wage from the
Constitution, during the constitution amendment process.
Senator Mark gave the assurance as
the protesting workers challenged the state governors and the senators to
justify why the salaries of Nigerian workers should not be fixed by the Federal
Government while their own salaries and emoluments are being fixed from Abuja,
irrespective of the fact that majority of them come from very poor villages.
The Senate amendment will no longer
allow the Federal Government to fix the minimum wage but only responsible for
the fixing salaries of the Federal workers, while state governments will decide
what to pay their workers, and the private sector workers are left at the mercy
of capitalist employers.
The Senate told the workers that it
would reconsider and rescind its unpopular decision.
Senator Mark apologized to the organised
labour movement over the Senate’s overwhelming vote for the removal of the
minimum wage from the Exclusive Legislative list to Concurrent list.
According to him, a joint committee,
comprising the upper and lower legislative chambers have been constituted,
adding that the issue of the national minimum wage will be tabled for further
deliberation before the committee.
Senator Mark said: “Let me appreciate
the perspective on which you have come here today. It shows you are
genuinely concerned on why it is so. Let me say this, because if you take a
decision in the Senate that is retarding instead of progressing, you have every
right to be concerned.
“We have not concluded the exercise,
we still have a long way to go, but it is good that you have alerted us now. It
is good that you have come to present your case. It is even better that I have
personally come to take your case from you.
“Let me assure you that in whatever
we have reviewed so far, the Senate will rebuild and concentrate and improve on
it.
“We will improve on it, we also feel
the pains that the workers in this country feel, the essence of coming here is
to present a case from your own perspective.
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