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Workers’ retrenchment looms across States…see why
Nigerian governors have said they cannot afford to pay workers a minimum wage of N30,000 unless the organised labour wants its members to be sacked.
Apart from this, the governors at their emergency meeting in Abuja on Wednesday night, asked the Federal Government to also accede to the review of the national revenue allocation formula.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum who is also the Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, who read the communiqué after the meeting, said that a new committee would be raised to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari over the issue.
He said the committee would work out another formula towards quickly resolving the problem associated with the proposed minimum wage.
Yari said, “Following a meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum where we deliberated on the national minimum wage, governors resolved to re-strategise and put together another committee to meet with the President once again, to work out another formula towards quickly resolving the problem associated with the proposed N30.000 minimum wage which is impracticable unless labour agrees to a downsizing of the workforce all over the country or the Federal Government itself accedes to the review of the national revenue allocation formula.
“Members of the committee who were nominated to see the President include the governors of Lagos, Kebbi, Plateau, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi. Enugu and Kaduna.”
The federation account is currently being managed on a legal framework that allows funds to be shared under three major components – statutory allocation, Value Added Tax distribution; and allocation made under the derivation principle.
Under statutory allocation, the Federal Government gets 52.68 per cent of the revenue shared; states, 26.72 per cent; and local governments, 20.60 per cent.
The framework also provides that Value Added Tax revenue be shared thus; FG, 15 per cent; states, 50 per cent; and LGs, 35 per cent.
Similarly, extra allocation is given to the oil producing states based on the 13 per cent derivation principle.
Yari said that he and his colleagues had seen the report of the Tripartite Committee report presented to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The committee, which is headed by Amal Pepple, recommended N30, 000 as minimum wage.
Though the President received the report, he however said that he was still studying it.
Yari said that the committee did not consider the submission of the governors who had earlier said they could only afford to pay N22, 500 as minimum wage.
He said, “We have seen what has been presented to the President by the (Tripartite) Committee.
“As a member of the committee, our representative there said the committee did not take our submission of N22,500 because it came late.
“I am surprised. How can you do this without the input of the states because the states are the key stakeholders in this business.
“So, a situation whereby our report was not taken or considered by the Tripartite Committee … then I don’t know how the committee wants us to work.”
He regretted that while the governors would want to pay, they would not be able to do so due to meagre resources available to them.
He said “But we still say we want to pay, but the issue is the ability to pay.
“If we say no, it is not about the ability to pay, just pay, I don’t know how this formulae will work and I don’t know how we can get a solution to the issue.
“We are paying N18,000 (as minimum wage today), but when the President assumed office, about 27 states were not able to pay, not that they chose not to pay.
“So, now you say N30,000, how many of them can pay? We will be bankrupt (if we pay). So as Nigerians, we should look at the issues seriously.
“While other people are saying that governors are riding jets and living in affluence, that one is not luxury but compulsory.
“Like Lagos that is paying about N7bn as salaries; if you say it should pay N30,000, now it will be N13bn.
“From our calculation, it is only Lagos State that will be able to pay N30,000. As Nigerians, this is our country; there is no other country we have and we should be fair to this country.”
He said governors would continue to dialogue with workers on the need for them (the workers ) to see the difficulties they (governors ) were facing.
He said, “As for the way forward, we will continue to talk with Labour. Let them see reasons and difficulties some of us have.
“For instance, the money Lagos State is using to pay is not coming from Abuja.
“They have a way of getting their money from the IGR and that is why they can afford to pay. They get money through VAT (as well).
“Apart from Lagos, even Rivers State cannot afford to pay. So we have been crying out about this since 2011 but no one will listen.
“One critical example is that some states ration their salaries while some others put everything they earn on the table and ask labour to come and see and ask them to suggest how much should go for capital and personnel costs.
“Some say 70 per cent for personnel cost and 30 per cent for capital projects and yet the states cannot pay and they put the remaining as outstanding.”
He said it was wrong to use the price of crude oil in the international market to determine the minimum wage.
Yari said, “So, let us look at this matter seriously to see how we can do it properly. It is our primary responsibility to see that everybody is happy.
“It is the same labour that is pushing for the N30,000 that will still turn around to say that the governors did not do any infrastructure and how are we going to achieve that by paying only salaries?”
Source: Punch
News
Badaru on Operational Tour of 82 Division, other Military Installations in Enugu and Imo States
The Honourable Minister of Defence H.E Mohammed Badaru Abubakar CON mni is currently in Enugu on operational tour of 82 Division of Nigerian Army and other military platforms in Enugu.
He was received on arrival by the General officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian Army / Commander JTF SE of operation Udoka Major-General H.T Dada and other senior military officers.
The Minister is expected to meet with South East stakeholders on the way forward.
Details later…
Tinubu has granted full oversight responsibilities to Ministers of State over agencies under them amongst whom are Minister of State for Defence Dr. Bello Matawalle, Water Resources and Sanitation, Minister of State for Agriculture and others will henceforth enjoy full oversight responsibilities over such agencies.
President Bola Tinubu at FEC Meeting has approved that ministers of state be given full powers to supervise the agencies under them, the cable reported.
Until now, files pertaining to departments and agencies under their supervision were sent by their permanent secretaries to the senior ministers.
With the new dispensation, ministers of state can now grant all necessary administrative approvals on the governance process of these agencies and departments.
According to a source in the office of the head of service of the federation, “the president was not pleased with the prevailing governing framework in which ministers of states were just ministers in name”.
This, Tinubu reportedly said, led to the “underutilisation of the expertise and capabilities” of most ministers of state.
“The president believes ministers of state should have the right to make decisions and direct action within their areas of responsibility,” the official added.
According to the Cable report, the source said the idea, first mooted by Hadiza Bala Usman, special adviser to the President on policy coordination and head, central delivery coordination unit got an instant buy-in from the President.
With the new directive, the administration hopes “to unleash” the potential of all the ministers, the source added.
…It’s unprecedented to earn above minimum wage in Enugu- Labour
… We’ll commence implementation immediately- ALGON
Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has approved N80,000 minimum wage for the state’s work force, including local government workers, effective October 2024, noting a direct link between a motivated workforce and his administration’s vision of growing the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn.
The new minimum wage covers all state employees, primary school teachers, and local government workers.
Organised labour has described the wage as unprecedented, as it was the first time that Enugu workers would be earning above the national minimum wage.
Mbah announced the new minimum wage on Thursday after a meeting with the Enugu State Minimum Wage Implementation Committee headed by the Head of Service, Kenneth Ugwu and labour leaders, including the state’s labour leaders.
Mbah said, “Few weeks ago, I inaugurated a committee with the responsibility to oversee the implementation of the New National Minimum Wage in Enugu State. Today, I’m happy to announce a new minimum wage for workers in Enugu State, reflecting our fidelity to their welfare, in regard of which we have been resolutely committed.
“We have approved the sum of N80,000 as the new minimum wage in Enugu State. This underscores our commitment to bequeathing lasting legacies of improved living conditions.
“Our commitment to improved workers’ welfare runs deep, and is rooted in the firm understanding of the inextricable link between an inspired workforce and the audacious economic targets we had set our sights on.
“We clearly understood that reducing poverty to the barest minimum and achieving an unprecedented economic growth target were contingent on the output of the workforce. Therefore, for us, the best way to acknowledge that labour creates wealth is by ensuring that the workforce, which creates the wealth that oils the wheel of government, is sufficiently motivated.
“We have similarly demonstrated our commitment to workers welfare through the consistent payment of the wage awards, a gesture we had pledged to sustain until a new wage structure took effect.”
Speaking, the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo, thanked governor Mbah for always prioritising the welfare of workers, describing the new minimum wage as “a great one for Enugu workers.”
“In the past, when minimum wage is announced, it takes up to one or two years for anything to happen; and when it did, we took anything they gave us as we saw it. But today, you have even given us something much higher than national minimum wage.
“But I am not totally surprised because when other governors were paying N12,000 wage award, you were paying us N25,000. When others paid for some months and stopped, you continued paying it until the new minium wage as you promised. So, we have enjoyed wage award for 11 months and today you announced the minimum wage which is the first of its kind since my 32 years in service,” said.
Speaking to Government House correspondents, the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Ben Asogwa, said, “We are so happy. The governor did not just announce ₦80,000 minium wage, but said that it cascades down to even local government workers. He said that he does not want disparity in salary implementation in Enugu State anymore because we all go to the same market.
“This is the first time in history we are seeing the implementation of minimum wage above the approved amount by the federal government. Actually, when we entered into the negotiation, we were afraid because we know quite well that we are not among the states that share in dividends of oil money. We know quite well that we are at the back when it comes to federal allocation, but His Excellency actually surprised us.
“One thing we have seen is that he understands the impact of motivation on productivity. The governor has set a pace and we know that any other person coming after him will have the challenge to meet up with the target set by His Excellency, Governor Peter Mbah.”
On his part, Chairman of the Association of Local Government Workers, ALGON, Enugu State, Hon. Okechukwu Edeh, pledged the commitment of council chairmen to implementing the new minimum wage.
“When you motivate workers, they become more productive. What I am promising on behalf of the Enugu ALGON family is that we are going to cascade the new minimum wage to the local government level. Implementation begins immediately,” he said.
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