Why Labour should reconsider stance on minimum wage — Committee

The Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage has provided reasons why organised labour should reconsider the amount it is demanding as the minimum wage.

Alhaji Goni Aji, the chairman of the committee, stated this in Abuja on Sunday.

Organised labour is demanding N250,000 as the minimum wage per month, while the Federal Government and Organised Private Sector have offered N62,000 per month.

Goni explained that labour should reconsider its stance based on economic considerations and the non-monetary incentives that the Federal Government has provided for workers so far.

He listed these incentives as including the N35,000 wage award for all treasury-paid federal workers, N100 billion for the procurement of gas-fuelled buses and conversion to gas kits.

Other incentives include the N125 billion conditional grant, financial inclusion for small and medium-scale enterprises, and the N25,000 each to be shared with 15 million households for three months.

He also mentioned the N185 billion palliative loans to states to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal, and the N200 billion to support the cultivation of hectares of land to boost food production.

Additionally, there is N75 billion to strengthen the manufacturing sector and N1 trillion for student loans for higher education.

He noted the release of 42,000 metric tonnes of grains from strategic reserves and the purchase and distribution of 60,000 metric tonnes of rice to the millers association.

Goni pointed out the recent salary increase of 25 per cent and 35 per cent on all consolidated salary structures for federal workers, and the 90 per cent subsidy on health costs for federal civil servants registered on the health insurance programme.

All these, he said, should be considered by the labour unions in accepting the N62,000 being offered by the Federal Government.

He noted that the light rail commissioned in Abuja, meant to relieve transportation costs until the end of the year, is a landmark achievement that would cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.

In addition to the freedom for civil servants to engage in agriculture, the Federal Government has approved the inclusion of ICT services as alternate sources of income.

Goni added that the committee agreed that where major and small businesses were closing down, resulting in job losses, the outcome of a new minimum wage should not trigger further massive job losses.

He further stated that linking the strike to electricity hikes with the wage determination was not fair to the negotiating parties.