The Organised Labour in Nigeria has embarked on a nation-wide protest against what it called plans by the National Assembly to move the National Minimum Wage from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent list.
The protest in the nation’s capital Abuja on Wednesday took the workers to the National Assembly.
The President, Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC), Mr Ayuba Wabba, said the protest which was peaceful became necessary to safeguard workers’ right.
The nation-wide protest was organised to protest against the bill sponsored by Hon. Garba Datti Mohammed of Sabon Gari Federal Constituency, Kaduna State which had passed the 1st and 2nd reading in February 2021.
The protesters carried placards with inscription such as ‘removing national minimum wage from the Exclusive to the Concurrent list is a declaration of war on Nigeria workers, the national minimum wage is our right, don’t decentralise workers wages, President Buhari, no room for fifth columnists, stand with Nigeria workers, keep minimum wage on the exclusive list, among others.
“The bill that seeks to remove the National Minimum Wage from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent list is not acceptable.
”The issue of National Minimum is a standard signed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the ILO is the first agency of the United Nations formed in 1919 after the First World War, so it has the powers of the United Nations.
”The National Minimum Wage is not a Nigerian Standard but an International standard.
“In the countries of the world, over 33 Federating Nations including the United States of America have their Minimum Wage in the Exclusive list.
“Currently, the Minimum Wage of USA is $10per hour and President Biden has already announced plans to initiate an upward review of the minimum wage to $15per hour.
”How can we degenerate to remove the issue that workers have earned through hard labour for forty years overnight?” Ayuba Wabba said.
He said that workers had given the leadership of organised labour the mandate to declared nationwide strike if the right thing was not done.
The President, Trade Union Congress TUC, Mr Quadri Olaleye in his address called on the National Assembly to lead by example.
According to Olaleye, leadership by example is the best.
“If the National Assembly must take that decision, all the executives should go back to their Local Government to collect their salary according to their local government revenue generation,” he said.
He also presented a protest letter to the House of Representatives through the Majority Leader, Hassan Doguwu.
Speaking, the Majority Leader, Hassan Doguwa, while receiving the protest letter on behalf of the Speaker House of Representative, Femi Gbajabiamila commended the organised labour leadership for expressing their grievances in the right quarter.
”I want to say that we have accepted the letter presented to us by the organised labour and I want to assure you that we will give it the right treatment.
“We will also provide the window for the people to come and present their grievances through the public hearing.
”That presentation of that bill is only a proposal and with what i am seeing now, it appears to me that the leadership of organised labour are against that bill.
“If you are against that bill, you are right and you have every reason to be against that bill,” he added.
PIAK
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