The Friday
meeting between the federal government and labour unions ended without an
agreement.
The meeting
was organised to prevent the planned January 8 protest by labour unions.
The planned
protest by the labour unions is to demand that President Muhammadu Buhari
submit a bill to the parliament for the implementation of N30,000 minimum wage
for workers.
While
addressing journalists at the end of the Friday meeting, the President of the
Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, said the meeting has been adjourned till
5 p.m. on Monday.
Mr Wabba
said organised labour believes in dialogue in resolving industrial disputes.
“We have had
a social dialogue bothering on the national minimum wage as you are aware and
the meeting decided to adjourn and reconvene on Monday for us to do further
consultations before the issues are concluded,” he said.
“But we have
not been able to conclude and we have agreed to reconvene to tidy the process.
The issue at stake is to make sure that the bill is transmitted and also other
auxiliary issues that government says they are trying to put together.
He said the
rally on January 8 will be determined by Monday’s meeting.
“Those
processes which then need to be followed to ensure that a clean bill is
transmitted to the National Assembly and what they now termed some physical
issues are what we will tidy up on Monday. So, let us wait for that Monday,” he
said.
In his
reaction, the labour minister, Chris Ngige, who led the government delegation,
said the government has made progress with the workers.
”We are
still discussing and will continue on Monday. We need to make further
consultations before the issues are concluded,” he said.
“So, we are
discussing on ways to fast track and we are taking appropriate steps as
required by us by law.
“Mr
President is more committee to this as he was the one that set of the
Tripartite Committee on the minimum wage and even inaugurated them and also put
in all the resources. And so he his ready for it and also received the report
too,” he said.
“So, we are
now working on the report and the report is in a raw form, it has to milled
before transmission,” he said.
Mr Ngige
earlier said at the start of the meeting that it was called as a result of the
communique issued by the labour unions on the protest.
“The
national minimum wage is an existing act that needs amendment. So, it is not a
question of only money, ” he said.
He said the
moment the bill gets to the National Assembly, it will become the business of
all Nigerians.
“There are
things that we need to do before sending the bill to the National Assembly and
do it in a way to maintain the sustainable status of the minimum wage. This why
we have called you and for you to suggest to us,” he said at the start of the
meeting.
The meeting,
which started at 12:50 p.m., went on recess at 3:20 p.m. and reconvened at 4:28
p.m.
The meeting
went on break because President Buhari summoned Mr Ngige, the finance minister,
Zainab Ahmed, and the budget minister, Udoma Udoma, for an emergency meeting at
the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Nigerian
Labour Congress (NLC) has been at loggerheads with the federal government over
a new minimum wage.
The NLC and
other labour unions demand that the national minimum wage be increased to
N30,000 from the current N18,000.
State
governors have, however, said they would not be able to pay the N30,000 minimum
wage.
The Friday
meeting between the federal government and labour unions ended without an
agreement.
The meeting
was organised to prevent the planned January 8 protest by labour unions.
The planned
protest by the labour unions is to demand that President Muhammadu Buhari
submit a bill to the parliament for the implementation of N30,000 minimum wage
for workers.
While
addressing journalists at the end of the Friday meeting, the President of the
Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, said the meeting has been adjourned till
5 p.m. on Monday.
Mr Wabba
said organised labour believes in dialogue in resolving industrial disputes.
“We have had
a social dialogue bothering on the national minimum wage as you are aware and
the meeting decided to adjourn and reconvene on Monday for us to do further
consultations before the issues are concluded,” he said.
“But we have
not been able to conclude and we have agreed to reconvene to tidy the process.
The issue at stake is to make sure that the bill is transmitted and also other
auxiliary issues that government says they are trying to put together.
He said the
rally on January 8 will be determined by Monday’s meeting.
“Those
processes which then need to be followed to ensure that a clean bill is
transmitted to the National Assembly and what they now termed some physical
issues are what we will tidy up on Monday. So, let us wait for that Monday,” he
said.
In his
reaction, the labour minister, Chris Ngige, who led the government delegation,
said the government has made progress with the workers.
”We are
still discussing and will continue on Monday. We need to make further
consultations before the issues are concluded,” he said.
“So, we are
discussing on ways to fast track and we are taking appropriate steps as
required by us by law.
“Mr
President is more committee to this as he was the one that set of the
Tripartite Committee on the minimum wage and even inaugurated them and also put
in all the resources. And so he his ready for it and also received the report
too,” he said.
“So, we are
now working on the report and the report is in a raw form, it has to milled
before transmission,” he said.
Mr Ngige
earlier said at the start of the meeting that it was called as a result of the
communique issued by the labour unions on the protest.
“The
national minimum wage is an existing act that needs amendment. So, it is not a
question of only money, ” he said.
He said the
moment the bill gets to the National Assembly, it will become the business of
all Nigerians.
“There are
things that we need to do before sending the bill to the National Assembly and
do it in a way to maintain the sustainable status of the minimum wage. This why
we have called you and for you to suggest to us,” he said at the start of the
meeting.
The meeting,
which started at 12:50 p.m., went on recess at 3:20 p.m. and reconvened at 4:28
p.m.
The meeting
went on break because President Buhari summoned Mr Ngige, the finance minister,
Zainab Ahmed, and the budget minister, Udoma Udoma, for an emergency meeting at
the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Nigerian
Labour Congress (NLC) has been at loggerheads with the federal government over
a new minimum wage.
The NLC and
other labour unions demand that the national minimum wage be increased to
N30,000 from the current N18,000.
State
governors have, however, said they would not be able to pay the N30,000 minimum
wage.
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