National minimum wage: Oshiomhole, Omar lead workers’ protest to NASS •Senate to revisit decision Written by Soji-Eze Fagbemi - Abuja Thursday, 19 September 2013 04:16 font size decrease font size increase font size Print Email Rate this item 1 2 3 4 5 (0 votes) раскрутка сайтов AddThis Social Bookmark Button 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 Exlusive 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.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 11:03:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015