Minimum wage: Tension as labour announces new strike plan

• The NLC has threatened to embark on a one-month strike over an alleged plan to decentralise minimum wage negotiation
• Joe Ajaero, the president of the NLC, raised the alarm on Tuesday, July 16, adding that the move violates the concepts of equity embedded in the Nigeria constitution
• According to Ajaero, the move to remove the minimum wage from the exclusive list of the federal government to the concurrent list to allow governors to negotiate minimum wage would lead to slave wage

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to shut down the country for a month in protest against plans to deregulate the national minimum wage. This comes as negotiations for a new national minimum wage are ongoing between Organised Labour, the Federal Government, and the Organised Private Sector.

NLC President Joe Ajaero made the threat while speaking at the 67th Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association Annual General Meeting in Lagos. He opposed plans to remove the national minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list and move it to the concurrent list, allowing state governors to determine wages.

NLC announces plan to embark on one-month strike over minimum wage decentralisation Photo Credit: @NLCHeadquarters, @HouseNGR
Source: Twitter

Why governors should not negotiate minimum wage

According to The Punch, Ajaero argued that this move would lead to a "slave wage" and force poverty on citizens. He emphasized that the Constitution provides for equal work for equal pay and that decentralizing wages would be against the concept of equity and equality before the law.

The NLC is adamant that it will not accept any situation where governors and National Assembly members impose a wage that would harm workers. Ajaero warned that if such a law is passed, there will be no movement in the country for a month.

The NLC strongly opposes the proposed decentralisation of the national minimum wage, and the union's threat of a month-long shutdown is a significant show of force.

This comes barely 48 hours before President Bola Tinubu will be meeting with the leadership of organised labour before making a final decision on the new minimum wage.

Source: Legit.ng