The waiting game of the Nigerian civil servants is getting to a boiling point. They are becoming restive over the imbroglio surrounding the national minimum wage.President Muhammadu Buhari signed the new minimum wage bill of $95 on April 18, 2019 after a tortuous bargaining, but workers are still gasping in expectation four months later.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), an umbrella body of more than 55 national unions; and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), a body of senior staff associations initiated the negotiation for a new minimum wage to replace the current $50 monthly wage.
The agitation, according to the unions, is germane and overdue review because inflation has made nonsense of the salaries over the years. Take home pay is no longer taking workers home.
The agitation led to strikes and protests on several occasions to force the government to accede to the new wage review.
Expectations were high and workers beamed with smiles as President Buhari eventually signed the minimum wage bill into law after the approval by the National Assembly.
But after Buhari’s approval, more issues have continued to erupt and thereby delaying the implementation.
The new wage was rejected by the 36 state governors, who felt they would not be able to pay. They consider it as huge burden as many of them have several months of unpaid salaries.
Aside the ability to pay, relativity increment among the workers’ cadre is another problem. There is also disagreement on the percentage increases across the different grades of workers.
In support of the governors, Dr. Samuel Akanbi, an Economist and a financial analyst, noted that the economic implication of paying the minimum wage by the Nigerian government at this point in time will be a huge burden that calls for a well thought decision to be made before implementation.
Akanbi stated that this must have informed the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to unveil a policy on the implementation of the national minimum wage.
He noted that the present reality of the nation’s economy may not allow the government to push through the payment of minimum wage across all levels, adding, however, that since the government was bold enough to sign it into law, it is bound to implement the agreement.
Mr. Quadri Olaleye, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), while reacting to NSIWC policy on the implementation of the national minimum wage, said that the government was being smart with such policy that had divided the workers in term of the implementation of the new minimum wage.
According to him, the government is playing smart and this is an attempt to play a divide and rule policy, which according to him, will not work because the consequential adjustment arising from the wage increase is alien to the labour union.
He added that such adjustment is unacceptable to the unions because it contradicts the raison d’etre for setting the committee on the review of minimum wage.
Mr. Godwin Segun, a retired banker, observed that the current national minimum wage was calculated based on the cost of living at the time it was approved and implemented in 2011.
Mrs. Tonia Emmanuel, a civil servant, said that the federal government should apply caution in handling the issue of the implementation of the new minimum wage, noting that the same method former President Olusegun Obasanjo used when the minimum wage was increased to N7, 500 should be applied.
She noted that tempers are already high and workers are agitated with the news of the adjustment, adding that the joy of the civil servants was short lived when they got wind of the policy by the NSIWC, while urging the federal government to tread with caution.
Emmanuel stated that it would be a disservice to Nigerian workers after their hopes were raised on the signing of the minimum wage and again dashed on the excuse that it can longer afford to pay workers across board.
She noted that the current minimum wage is no longer enough to cater for the needs of an average worker, adding that while prices of goods and services have gone so high, salaries remained the same.
This, according to her, is a recipe for breeding corruption in the civil service, and that if the government is sincere in its fight against corruption, then the living wage of Nigerian workers must be addressed without further delay.
Mr. Richard Egbule, the Chairman of NSIWC, had through a statement issued in Abuja said the position of government on the implementation of the wage was to start with workers currently earning below $95 monthly.
According to him, other categories of workers will follow after the conclusion of talks on consequential adjustments.
As the imbroglio continues, the Nigeria Labour Congress has dispelled ongoing reports that negotiations between the organised labour and the Technical Committee on Consequential Adjustment of the new minimum wage had stopped.
Mr. Ayuba Wabba, the NLC National President, said on August 15, 2019 that the negotiations were still ongoing.
He said even though the NLC and the TUC were not directly involved in the negotiations, they would step in if any disagreement occurred.
The Nigerian Government on May 14 inaugurated the Relativity/Consequential Adjustment Committee, which in turn set up a Technical Sub-Committee to work out the template for the adjustment of salaries of Public Service Employees.
However, with the resumption of negotiations on Aug. 14, the NLC boss noted that the Nigerian workers have waited so long for the new minimum wage and that it is the desire of the organised labour that the implementation is effected soon.
MM/GIK/APA