We’ll mount pressure to release wage template –Labour – TheNigerialawyer

Meanwhile, the organised labour has indicated plans to put
necessary pressure on the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages
Commission to release the template to state governments.

The Vice Chairman of Trade Union Congress, Sunday Salako, said
organised labour would continue to put pressure on the necessary
agency of government over the delay in the release of template for
the new Minimum Wage to the state governments.

He said, “Organised labour will not rest in the pursuit of the
new minimum wage issue. Of course, we will mount the pressure. Once
the organised labour has information on the reason for the delay,
we will write to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages
Commission. I am sure that the chairman will not want to see the
other side of labour.”

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress,
Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, has said the first assignment of the new state
executives is to negotiate how the new minimum wage would be paid
in their states.

He, however, said that all states were not expected to pay the
same amount to workers.

“Each state council of the NLC will opens negotiations with the
state government. We just conducted the state council elections.
The new leadership that emerged in various states will open
negotiations with state governments as their first assignment,” he
noted.

Officials of 24 states who spoke to Saturday PUNCH expressed the
willingness to pay the new minimum wage but said certain conditions
and agreements must be reached with labour unions and the Federal
Government.

They also said they were waiting for the implementation template
from the Federal Government.

Some of the states were Benue, Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Rivers,
Delta, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti.

Other states are Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara and Plateau.

Adeniyi Adesina, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor
Adegboyega Oyetola, in a chat with one of our correspondents, said
the state was waiting for the guidelines for the implementation of
the new wage before responding.

Adesina said, “The state is waiting for the Federal Government’s
implementation guidelines to enable it (Osun) to respond.”

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Simon Lalong on Media
and Publicity, Mr Mark Longyen, said the payment would only start
after the government had made the necessary arrangement, including
negotiations with the workers, to ensure the smooth take-off of the
policy in the state.

He said, “There are some things that need to be sorted out
before government begins the payment of the minimum wage. For
instance, government will need to interface with the state labour
congress in order to iron out any grey area and come up with
modalities for implementation.”

Also, the Katsina State Government said it was still awaiting a
circular from the NSIWC, which would specifically state how much
should be paid as minimum wage to workers, adding that there was
nothing the state could do without the circular.

“You can’t build something on nothing,” the official declared,
pointing out that the circular was the real working paper for the
implementation of the new minimum wage.”