The National Labour Congress, NLC, the governors\u2019 interference in the national minimum wage negotiation is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
The head of information and public affairs for the National Labour Congress (NLC), Benson Upah, stated this in an interview on Arise Television.<\/p>\n
Upah addressed the NLC\u2019s staunch refusal to allow governors to influence the determination of the minimum wage.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cThe process for arriving at a national minimum wage comprises three parties, which is labour, employers, and government. The government is currently playing a dual role of being the employer as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernors have been part of this process, and for some of them to want to pull out from the national team (under the government) will be injurious to the whole process and an act of treachery and betrayal because they know fully that they have been part of the government team. It is tripartite. They do not have the constitutional right to hijack it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upah noted that the major issue in the minimum wage negotiation with the government is \u201cprioritisation and political will.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Nigeria has adhered to this process since 1961 and described the governor\u2019s desire to take over the negotiation as \u201c completely irrational.\u201d<\/p>\n
He warned that placing labour on the concurrent list could lead to a multiplication of laws, making it difficult for investors to navigate the legal landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cLabour was put on the exclusive list to ensure a certain level of uniformity in the administration of labour laws, and it makes it a bit easier for investors so they don\u2019t have to deal with multiple laws when dealing with labour issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Upah also noted there could be potential socioeconomic consequences if states were allowed to set their own minimum wages.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cIf you put labour on the concurrent list, some states will pay as low as N5,000, which will be a result of the arrogance of power that labour is nothing. That has both socioeconomic consequences, issues of security, livelihood, and citizen decency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upah highlighted the NLC\u2019s commitment to its protests and the lessons learned from past negotiations.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cFirst and foremost, it will be unfair to say we did not follow through with our protests. We have been believing in our leaders. The NLC has been trusting our leaders in this country, but in the end, it was trust misplaced, and we\u2019re learning our lessons today. We were trusting our administration, and that\u2019s why we went back to the negotiation table at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The federal government has warned the NLC and organised labour that a high minimum wage could lead to high retrenchment in both the civil service and private sector. However, Upah dismissed this warning as \u201can act of blackmail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have responded to that by saying it is an act of blackmail. We gave our statistical figures, saying on the issue of capacity that the money they declare that they share at FAC moved from 700 billion to 1.2 trillion.<\/p>\n
\u201cBesides that, I showed you news. The issue is prioritisation and political will. Labour is not being difficult; we\u2019re being reasonable. We are aware that when you create communities of the working poor, there are consequences,\u201d Upah said.<\/p>\n
He criticised the governors driving the agenda to change the minimum wage negotiation process.<\/p>\n
Upah called them a \u201cvocal minority\u201d and accused them of acting in bad faith. \u201cGovernors that are driving this agenda should come off their high horse. They are a vocal minority, and we know the arrowhead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The National Labour Congress, NLC, the governors\u2019 interference in the national minimum wage negotiation is unconstitutional. The head of information and public affairs for the National Labour Congress (NLC), Benson…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n