The organized labour in Ekiti State has accused All Progressive Congress (APC) governors of masterminding the bill seeking removal of the national minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list to enable Governors determine minimum wages.
Oferring clarifications, the labour group alleged that some governors’ within the ruling APC who they branded ‘enemies of workers’ contracted Hon. Garba Muhammed, representing Sabon Gari federal constituency, Kaduna State to initiate the wage re-classification bill.
The union leaders made the allegations while protesting against the plans by the House of Representatives to alter the present wage structure, which gave the Federal Government the exclusive power to negotiate a minimum wage for workers in the country.
Participating in the demonstration were members of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Joint Negotiation Committee (JNC), and other affiliated unions.
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The labour leaders had earlier assembled at the popular Fajuyi Park in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital around 8:45 am and took off for the protest at about 10:15 am.
The workers who were accompanied by the police took a long walk from Fajuyi park through Bank road to the Ekiti State House of Assembly with them chanting solidarity songs against the minimum wage re-classification bill.
The workers were armed with placards displaying various inscriptions such as: ‘No to Minimum Wage on Concurrent list’, ‘Wage Theft:Crime against Workers, against Humanity’, and ‘Minimum Wage is our Right, Don’t Decentralize Workers.
Addressing the Speaker, Funmiyi Afuye, the TUC chairman, Com. Sola Adigun condemned the differential minimum wage bill, describing it as obnoxious legislation laced with evil intents targeted at the Nigerian workers.
Adigun said that the ‘infamous bill’ which was part of the subterranean agenda of the APC governors to frustrate Nigerian workers was not only antithetical to the international minimum wage but also alien to the standard global practice.
‘It’s saddening and disheartening that one Hon. Garba Datti which we all know are sponsored by governors of the APC, the enemies of workers said the minimum wage should be removed from the exclusive list to the concurrent list.
‘Nigeria is a member of ILO with over 170 countries members. And in all countries, we have a national minimum wage. The implication is this when our lawmakers legislate and agree on a certain amount of money to be minimum wage, it becomes a law that no state workers will get less than that amount.
‘The 30,000 minimum wage is not even enough to meet our needs. An average worker is taking home #1000 per day whereas a minister said they spend N13,000 on an inmate in a day. And all we could get because we are considerate is a peanut.’
‘It clearly stares us in the face that some governors that are unprogressive and see themselves as almighty said not to that,‘ he said.
On his part, the NLC Chairman, Com. Kolapo Olatunde called on the National Assembly to step down the alleged anti-workers’ bill in the overall interest of the country.
While urging President Muhammadu Buhari to rein in the APC governors and their co-conspirators in the National Assembly, he said the bill if not rescind will definitely incite the workers against the APC-led federal government.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK