The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has stated that Nigerian workers would be better off when states are allowed to fix their separate minimum wages in line with their financial capacity to pay.
Speaking during a public hearing on the new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers for the South-South geo-political zone in Port Harcourt, last Friday, Wike said that states vary in financial capacity, thereby making a uniform minimum wage unrealistic.
The governor said: “And for us, therefore, the single national minimum wage system is yet another lie that betrays the distortions in our federation and the structured dislocation of the states in the power equation between the Federal Government and the federating states.
“It is our view that the country and its workers would be better off, if states are allowed to fix and pay their own minimum wages indexed to the prevailing cost of living and ability to pay.
“When this happens, it is possible that some states may go beyond the minimum threshold to pay a living wage, which is what our workers truly need”, he argued.
Wike said that the previous review exercise failed to give maximum weight to the existing disparity in economic potential and capabilities among the 36 states of the federation, adding that it has been difficult for most of the states to implement the existing N18, 000.00 minimum wage.
He noted that majority of the states were within the fringes of financial viability, and cannot meet their salary obligations to civil servants without bailouts from the Federal Government.
The governor said that enhanced wages can only be possible when the Federal Government improves the economy of the federation.
He said: “Here in Rivers State, we value our workers; we invest in their welfare in different ways, and we want them to earn living wages that can keep them and their families as comfortable as possible.
“The Rivers State Government, therefore, supports the ongoing consultations by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage for arriving at a new national minimum wage floor for the country.”
In his contribution, Gov. Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom called for a review of the revenue sharing formula.
Represented by the state Head of Service (HOS), Mrs Ekerebong Akpan, the governor said the present minimum wage was not adequate for today’s workers.
“Today, workers’ wage cannot take them home. There is the need to note what each state can pay.” he said.
According to Udom, government would be able to “absolve” the difference between the present N18, 000 minimum wage and the proposed N66, 500.
He said that the Federal Government could increase workers’ salary without publicity, adding that it could be done without announcing it.
In his opening remarks, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige said the exercise has been held across the six geo-political zones to ascertain the needs of Nigerian workers and employers to reach an acceptable and implementable wage.
The minister said: “It is hoped that at the end of the exercise, we will be able to have women and men who will be engaged in productive work in equitable conditions of freedom to associate and bargain collectively with equality and human dignity”.
Ngige, who is also the chairman of Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, said the aim was to ensure that the nation adopts a national minimum wage that would assure the attainment of social protection floor for Nigerian citizens.
“The Federal Government wants a minimum wage that could secure goods (food) and services for Nigerian workers.
“At the end of the public hearing, we will collate contributions and arrive at an acceptable wage for Nigerian workers,” Ngige said.
Presenting the position of Nigerian Labour Congress in the South-South, Comrade Beatrice Itubo called for a living wage for workers, emphasising that the organised labour in Rivers State was insisting on N66,500 as national minimum wage for the workers in the country.
Itubo argued that the existing N18, 000 minimum wage was of no economic significance in the present economic situation.
“It is not a take home because of deductions, among others tax,’’ Itubo added.
Also speaking, the Rivers State Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Austine Jonathan, said the proposed N66, 500 was not “a take home due to deductions – tax, and compulsory pension contributions.
Jonathan, who represented the TUC in the South-South, noted that part of the proposed N66, 500 would go to healthcare, saying the menacing black soot was killing Rivers workers (residents).
He pleaded that pensioners should be considered in the new wage regime, arguing that some pensioners received below N10, 000 per month.
Both labour leaders also demanded upward review of workers’ salary every five years as well as building of social infrastructure to check high cost of living.
The public hearing attracted the representatives of the governors of Bayelsa, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo and Delta states.
Also present at the meeting were labour leaders from the six states of the geo-political zone.