The call for protest was announced a release signed on Sunday, September15, by TUC National President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, and its secretary General, Comrade Musa. The statement reads in part:
“Mobilisation
to protest the decentralization of National Minimum Wage slated for
September, 17 and 18, 2013 by the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and
its sister body, Nigeria Labour Congress is in top gear. The labour
centres have given directive to their over 60 affiliates throughout the
country to be battle-ready against the obnoxious move. We are surprised
that in one breathe; the Senate proposed decentralization of minimum
wage against the wish of the people of Nigeria, eroding the earning
power of vulnerable workers while they legislated life pension for the
leadership of the Senate.”
The protest took place in Abuja on Tuesdat and Wednesday.
“[O]ur Senate has become self-serving and anti-people.
Never in the history of this country, not even in the military era,
have we witnessed such a charade and travesty on the popular wish of the
people as was displayed at the Senate”, a statement by the TUC says.
At a Joint Press Conference held by NLC and TUC in Abuja on Monday, the two organizations stressed that the Senate’s position on workers’ earning fate was not acceptable. A press statement by the joint conference declared that the Senate, due to stance of leaving the workers vulnerable on wage administration, has failed.
NLC and TUC alleged politicization of the minimum wage administration.
The both bodies argued that the decentralization policy on minimum wage for workers in the private sector would expose them to exploiting tendencies of private employers.
Invoking sanctions of law, the organizations criticized the likely rational of fiscal autonomy by the Senate on workers’ wage determination in the constitutional review process:
“If fiscal or financial
autonomy were the issue, private firms would not be brought under
minimum wage laws anywhere in the world. “For example, the Senate needed
to be educated that of 194 countries responding on the issue as at
2011, 173 have minimum wage regimes in line with global standards”, NLC
and TUC jointly said.
The bodies also said they were not invited to discuss the issue:
“While
we are disappointed at the action of Senators to encourage continued
exploitation of workers and the Nigerian people, we are not surprised at
the outcome of this ignoble exercise, as the process unlike that of the
House of Representatives was shrouded in secrecy, exclusivity and
conspiracy”,
The NLC and TUC have now tuned-in, in similar
resistance as the amendment policies on the constitution have affected
the workers.It will be racalled that NLC had vowed to mobilize its members across the country against plan by the Senate to remove minimum wage from exclusive to concurrent list earlier in August.
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