The Nigeria Labour Congress has called on the federal and state governments to emulate the Imo governor in implementing the N104,000 minimum wage for workers in the country.
NLC president Joe Ajaero made the call in an interview with newsmen on the sidelines of the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers’ seventh National Quadrennial Delegates Conference in Abuja.
Mr Ajaero said that the move by Governor Hope Uzodimma was commendable and worth emulating by others.
“So many people were asking me, Is this real? I said, ‘This is a report from Imo State so far’. I have reached out to him. Although he told me about it before, now. It is real. That is the highest, and to a very large extent, it is commendable.”
Mr Ajaero explained that during the wage negotiations with the Federal Government, the argument was that the federal government did not want to move too far because it needed to take into cognisance the sub-nationals.
He added that the federal government said it could afford to pay more, but it did not want to disorganise the wage system.
“But if the states have the capacity to pay N100,000 and above, and considering that Imo State is not the highest in terms of revenue, it then means others are encouraged to do more.
“That is the whole essence of the issue of the underlying issue of minimum wage. Minimum wage is the least; states can do better. I think this is an initiative that other governors are supposed to follow. You must not wait for the next three years for a wage to be reviewed, especially given the current economic situation, so that people can at least survive,“ he said.
Mr Ajaero also expressed worry over some issues with the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund and called for immediate action.
“It, therefore, becomes imperative that we also alert you to a dangerous development. The state, having diverted 40 per cent of workers’ contributions to NSITF, is now seeking to unilaterally amend the NSITF Act.
“This is to allow the government to control a fund that entirely belongs to workers. We had demanded that the funds be accounted for and returned so that Nigerian workers would enjoy the benefits of the Agency,” said the NLC president.
Additionally, the NUCECFWW president, Stephen Okoro, expressed concerns about unfair labor practices by employers of construction workers, which are prevalent in most multinational and indigenous companies.
Mr Okoro said that engineers bear the brunt of work in the construction industry in their quest to have a country that is well-built and prepared for the future.
“We bear the pains, and our job is to ensure that construction work in this country is in good condition. We do our best to ensure that we have good roads, buildings well erected, and furniture put in place. That is our major concern,” said Mr Okoro.
According to him, this is why the union’s leadership has had zero tolerance for unfair labour practices in all their ramifications over the last four years.
“We believe in the slogan ‘injury to one is injury to all’. Also, our quest for a decent work agenda in all job sites remained relevant in our negotiations to preserve the lives of members and occupational health hazards. We look forward to abolishing casualisation in the industry in the near future,” Mr Okoro said.
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