Minimum wage: You can’t pay what you feel like, NLC tells governors

• Labour unions, the government, and the private sector have been at loggerheads over negotiations for a new minimum wage for months

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says the suggestion of governors that states should be allowed to pay what they can afford as minimum wage in their domains is dictatorial.

Labour unions, the government, and the private sector have been at loggerheads over negotiations for a new minimum wage for months.

The tripartite committee on the new minimum wage had proposed N62,000 as a new minimum wage but organised labour wants N265,000.

In a meeting earlier this week, the Southern Governors’ Forum argued that the minimum wage should not be uniform. States should pay what they can afford, they insisted.

“The Forum discussed the minimum wage issues demanded by labour and unanimously agreed that the minimum wage should be reflective of the cost of living and ability to pay, and each State be allowed to negotiate their minimum wage,” the governors said in a communique.

But the NLC in a statement on Friday faulted the governors’ move, saying it “threatens the welfare of Nigerian workers and the national economy”.

“The concept of a national minimum wage is not arbitrary. It represents a national wage floor, a baseline below which no worker in the law should be paid. This threshold is a collective agreement that ensures a minimum standard of living for every worker in the law. The governors’ demand to unilaterally determine the minimum wage negates this principle and threatens the welfare of Nigerian workers and the national economy,” the union said.

“It is important to remind the governors that the national minimum wage is not synonymous with the individual pay structures of the states which they implement religiously, reflecting their unique financial capabilities and circumstances. This diversity in pay structures underscores the flexibility that already exists within the system, allowing states to reward their workers in alignment with their financial realities.”

The NLC slammed governors and political officeholders for their flamboyant lifestyles.

“Why is there no hue and cry when political office holders across the nation receive uniform salaries as determined by Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission?” the statement asked.

“This double standard which piths a few privileged against the majority poor is an issue that should be of concern to those who love this country.”