movement, midnight, called off the three
day warning strike they earlier declared to
protest the reluctance of the Federal and
state governments to pay the new
minimum wage.
The strike was called off in Abuja after
marathon meetings between labour
leaders on one hand and delegations of the
Federal Government and the Governors
Forum on the other hand. At the end of the
six hour meeting between the leaders of the
Nigeria Labour congress, NLC and Trade
Union Congress (TUC) one side and the
Governors Forum on the other, the labour
leaders headed for the Office of the
Secretary to the Government of the
Federation (SGF) for another round of
negotiation which lasted for over three
hours.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo
State played the role of a mediator in
breaking the deadlock between the Federal
Government and Governors Forum on
one hand and the nation’s labour
movement. After the marathon meeting
between labour leaders and the Governors
Forum, the state chief executives,
apparently mandated Governor
Oshiomhole, who was the immediate past
President of the NLC to accompany the
labour leaders foranother meeting with the
Federal Government delegation led by the
Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.
Although the meeting held behind closed
doors, it was gathered that the Minister of
Labour Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu was
also present with the Director General of the
National Wages and Salaries Commission,
Chief Richard Egbule.
Earlier, at the meeting held on Monday,
Emeka Wogu had in his remarks, indicated
that the Federal Government’s position had
hardly shifted from what it was last week.
He repeated the justification the
Government’s delegation had earlier given
for its stance on the dispute over the
National Minimum Wage.
He maintained that what was budgeted for
in the current financial year was fund for
payment of public servants in categories
one to six. He pointed out that the major
challenge for government is funding the
payment of the new minimum wage
across board.
His position was reiterated by the SGF who
appealed to the labour leaders to call off
the nationwide strike.
Senator Anyim further urged the labour
leaders to accept the implementation of the
new minimum wage for workers on levels
1 to 6 in the public service since this was
what was budgeted for in the 2011
Appropriation Act of the National
Assembly.
He pledged that the Federal Government
had agreed to implement the salary review
for workers on levels 7 to 17 by next
January.
He further explained that the Federal
Government’s earlier interpretation of the
Minimum Wage Act was strict in the sense
that it was fashioned to ensure that no
Nigerian worker should receive less that
N18,000 as his monthly wage, whereas,
the labour movement’s interpretation was
that the law should apply across board.
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