MINIMUM WAGE!! FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REVEALS WHAT WORKERS WILL GET MONTHLY
MINIMUM
WAGE!! FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REVEALS WHAT WORKERS WILL GET MONTHLY
Minister
of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, on Wednesday, restated federal
government’s stance on the new minimum wage.
He
spoke at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while briefing State House
correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over
by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The minister
said the N24,000 per month stands, a figure the organised labour has kicked
against.
He said
that once minimum wage was fixed, any organisation or state that had the
capacity to pay more could do that.
Ngige
cited that Edo, Delta and Lagos states paid their workers more than the current
N18, 000 national minimum wage.
He
disclosed that FEC approved the implementation of the no-work, no pay principle
when workers go on strike in the federal public service.
The
minister said that the technical committee, which was inaugurated on April 27,
2016, did their work and submitted to the FEC in Oct. 2017.
“FEC
IN TURN, EMPANELLED A COMMITTEE OF TEN WHICH I CHAIRED TO DO A GOVERNMENT DRAFT
WHITE PAPER ON THOSE CONTENTIOUS AREAS THAT THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE HAD LOOKED
AT.
“THESE
CONTENTIOUS AREAS ARE ENFORCEMENT OF SECTION 43 OF THE TRADE DISPUTE ACT LAW OF
THE FEDERATION 2004; THIS IS THE SECTION THAT DEALS WITH LOCKOUT OF WORKERS BY
THEIR EMPLOYERS WITHOUT DECLARING REDUNDANCY APPROPRIATELY.
“BECAUSE
IN SOME ESTABLISHMENTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, WORKERS ARE LOCKED
OUT BY THEIR EMPLOYERS; SO THE LAW THERE SAYS THAT IF YOU LOCK YOUR WORKERS
WITHOUT PASSING THROUGH THE NORMAL CHANNEL-DUE PROCESS.
“FOR
THE PERIOD OF THE LOCK OUT, THE WORKER IS ASSUMED TO BE AT WORK AND WILL
RECEIVE ALL THE REMUNERATIONS AND ALLOWANCES, BENEFITS ACCRUING TO HIM FOR THE
PERIOD AND THAT PERIOD WILL ALSO BE COUNTED FOR HIM AS A PENSIONABLE PERIOD IN
THE COMPUTATION OF HIS PENSION.
“BUT WHEN WORKERS GO
ON STRIKE, THE PRINCIPLE OF NO-WORK-NO-PAY WILL ALSO APPLY BECAUSE THAT
PRINCIPLE IS ENSHRINED IN THE SAME SECTION 43 OF THE LABOUR ACT,’’ HE SAID.
According
to Ngige, the section says that for the period a worker withdraws his services,
government or his employers are not entitled to pay.
The
minister said that under the section, the period for which the worker was
absent would not count as part of his pensionable period in the public service.
Ngige
added that the issue of public servants remaining permanently in the executive
bodies on trade unions was discussed.
His
words: “Government realises that some persons in the public service go into
trade union executive positions; hold offices; and they do that for life; for
as long as they are in the service.
“In
doing so, they will refuse postings and deployments under the guise that are
doing trade union activities; government says no.
“You
have to be a public servant first before you become a trade unionist;
therefore, if you are there; the public service rules will also apply to you.
“And in
furtherance to this, government has also said that there must tenure
stipulations because people stay there without tenure; many organisations give
people union positions without tenure; government says there is no office that
does not have tenure.’’
Ngige
said that trade unions, henceforth, should present constitutions that must have
tenures; at least, maximum of two tenures for any elective position.