As debates and agitations for increased New Minimum Wage for public servants are raging in the country, analysts of Nigerian television station are unanimous in calling for the review and implementation of a new minimum wage, cautioning that states be allowed to negotiate the exact amount they could pay their workers.
At the moment, a junior staff in the lowest rung of civil service collects N18,000, but Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is agitating for payment of N66,500 to the junior in the lowest cadre of the service.
The analysts who talked Wednesday in TVC NEWS, Lagos under the programme, ‘Journalists Hangout’, argued that a new minimum wage was necessary because Nigerian workers bear the brunt of the dizzying inflation caused by the ailing economy.
A regular analyst in the programme, Babajide Kolade Otito-ju maintained that “This agitation is long overdue. Government must conform with the law of the land in the implementation of the wage. Inflation is high. Workers are the ones bearing the brunt of the ailing economy. It is unrealistic for people to think that the workers do not deserve the new wage.
“The only unfortunate thing is that many stakeholders who are not accommodated in the new wage would indirectly demand for their share as soon as the new wage is introduced. In fact, the landlords, traders, transporters and others will skyrocket their prices of their products as a way of enjoying the wage they see as largesse to workers.”
Otito-ju, who is News Manager in TVC News noted “However, the government and workers must be able to contend with the problems that will accompany the new wage. Already, an independent body has declared that 17 states in the country are economically unviable to survive without collecting the month allocations from the Federation Account. If NLC wants government to pay workers a minimum wage of N66,500, while The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) is campaigning for the payment of N96,000 to the least of its worker, governments at different tiers and unions have come together and harmonise on the exact wage to pay workers.
Continuing, he recalled that “few years ago, the monthly wage bill of Federal government was N25 billion but now it stands at about N150 billion despite the fact that the government had flushed out many ghost workers from the system. The wage bill will continue to rise and states will experience the same.
“Every time wage is increased, people experience triple effects. Once it is increased, the salary scale of a junior is jacked up and that of a senior officer will increase to check parity of salary scale. There must be proper harmonisation to avoid the problem of parity.”
Otito-ju, therefore, called on the government to consider rationalisation of the service to remove ghost and indolent workers for payment of the new wage, noting “I applaud Bola Tinubu, then Lagos State Governor for rationalising the service. Labour leaders attacked him seriously, yet he did not bulge and today Lagos civil service is the most efficient and effective in the country.”
In his submission, Sam Ebemere said “Anytime, government introduces new minimum wage, every Nigerian is interested in the money. Landlords want to increase their rents. If governments are having challenges in paying the N18,000 minimum wage, then everybody must control his appetite to contend common patrimony.”
Ebemere, who is the editor-in-chief of Ripples Nigeria, suggested “If we want to adjust salaries and wages for workers, let governments carry out rationalisation or down-sizing of workers. Again, governments must automate the system to authenticate the exact number of workers in their payroll.
“I want government to amend the constitution to accommodate the review of the minimum wage to avoid industrial disharmony. Again, let each state be allowed to negotiate its minimum wage for easy payment. For example, Massachussets pays its workers the highest minimum wage in the United States of America.”
During a rally that marked the Workers’ Day on May 1, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the country’s Vice President assured that Federal Government would upgrade the minimum wage.
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