Construction Workers Lament Exclusion From Minimum Wage

Engineering and construction workers have urged the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission not to exclude them from benefiting from the minimum wage being worked out by the federal government.

The Justice Alpha Belgore-led committee set up by the government on a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers recently recommended N18,000 as the minimum wage.

The proposal, if approved by the executive and legislative arms of the federal government, must be implemented by all employers in private and public sectors with up to 50 workers.

Prince Olumide Adeoye, President, National Union of Civil Engineering, Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers, said recently that the union members would resist any attempt to exempt them from benefiting from the proposed wage.Adeoye spoke at a meeting of the union members in Lagos.

He was reacting to the August 1 statement by the Chairman of the commission, Mr. Richard Egbule, that agriculture, construction and shipping firms were exempted from implementing the new wage, if approved.Egbule explained that the exemption was because of the conditions in those areas.Adeoye said, however, that it was wrong to prevent construction workers and workers in the other two sectors from benefiting from the proposed wage.

“We do not know the reason for exempting construction, agriculture and shipping firms.”Although the government has not come up with a white paper on the new wage, we will fight against our exclusion,’’ he said.

The unionist said that if construction workers did not resist the plan, their employers could treat them anyhow.