Labour unions in the country have urged the Federal Government and lawmakers to pass into law the bill on the implementation of the new minimum wage.

The unions, the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), River State chapters, gave the advice in Lagos.

In his New Year message, Mr Chika Onuegbu, TUC State Chairman, stressed the need for that the enactment of the law to avoid crisis.

“We want to appeal to the Federal Government and the National Assembly to ensure that the new minimum wage is passed into law before January 15, 2011.

“The continued delay in the passage of the minimum wage into law may lead to avoidable industrial crisis with dire consequences for the economy and the 2011 general elections,” he said.

Onuegbu also called on the government to ensure that workers were paid the arrears from November 2010.

He said that it would be difficult to elect credible leaders, achieve economic development and improved lives, without credible elections and the deepening of internal democracy by the political parties.

He appealed to eligible Nigerians to register during the 2011 voters registration exercise to achieve their desired transition to true democracy.

“We appeal to all Nigerians not to exchange their votes for money or any kind of material inducement.

“They should not vote for corrupt and greedy candidates and should use the opportunity provided by the elections to vote out corrupt and inept leaders,” Onuegbu said.

In his message, ASSBIFI President, Mr Olusoji Salako, urged unions in the public sector to insist in the full implementation of the minimum wage.

He also called on them to ensure the enactment of appropriate minimum wage law.

“The last time the minimum wage was reviewed to N7,500 for federal civil servants and N5,500 for their counterparts in the state was in 2000.

“During that review, the government had an understanding with the organised labour that the next salary increase was going to be 25 per cent of the existing salary,” he said.

The ASSBIFI president said it was regrettable that since then, nothing had been done.

He said that the unions should also insist on the mode of periodic increment in accordance with the increase in inflationary rate index.

He urged the labour movement to guard against policies that would erode whatever marginal gains that the review of minimum wage ought to achieve.

On the forthcoming elections, Salako said that workers must contribute to democratic institutions and help produce leaders that would change the facet of the economy.

“This is the minimum condition to combat huge wastage of scarce resources, especially those which go through the drain pipe of graft and corruption,” he said.

He said that the process for constructing an open, accountable and democratic society begins with the vigilance and affirmative actions of every worker.

He advised workers to register, cast their votes and insist on pro-poor manifestoes during the elections.

Salako also advised them to monitor the election process to ensure that their votes really count in instituting new social contract that would govern them.