With the battle for the new minimum wage ranging on, the former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi has stated that States should determine the minimum wage they can pay. Each State cutting its coat according to its size.
Recall that the Federal Government and organized labour unions have been locked in negotiations over a new minimum wage for months. While the FG has and Organized Private Sector, OPS have settled for N62, 000, Lbour is insisting on N250,000.
But in the bid to proffer solutions to the logjam, Fayemi advocated a decentralized minimum wage negotiation. The former Governor argued that States should determine what they can pay factoring in their peculiarities.
He said, “Every Governor has to deal with the issue of national minimum wage. When I was Governor and Chairman of the Governor’s Forum, and I believe even till this recent negotiation, is that we should decentralize minimum wage negotiations. And to allow States to have their own negotiations with their own labor unions. Whilst the Federal Government conducts its own negotiations. Because the fingers are not equal.”
The former Governor stated this during the Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He added that “This should be decentralized, and each State should define in conjunction with their labour unions. With transparency, all the records provided to the labor unions and say, ‘Look, this is what we have. But you are also only five or 10% of our population. We also have another 90% of the population that we must attend to.”
The Governor also believes that the talk about a new minimum wage is all about dogma. He said, “Saying a decentralized negotiation does not mean workers in the State will earn less than those at the Federal level.
“What we’re dealing with now is dogma. Labour does not want to hear anything about decentralized national minimum wage. And decentralized national minimum wage does not mean that what is paid at the level of the State will be lower than the Federal.”
The former Governor added, “In the ’60s and the ’50s, civil servants in the Western regions used to earn more than Federal Civil Servants.”
Recall that the minimum wage talks have continued to trigger reactions from stakeholders across the country.
The Governors are insisting that paying N60, 000 as minimum wage is unsustainable. While the Federal Government have agreed to pay N62, 000. The Organized Private Sector, OPS, stated that they are willing to pay N57, 000. But in all these, the organized labour is insisting on N250, 000.
Speaking on the development, a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana believes the States and Federal Government can pay the minimum wage if they have political will.
But in his speech during the Dinner Party to celebrate Democracy Day on June 12, President Bola Tinubu promised to pay what the government can afford.
“The minimum wage is going to be what Nigerians can afford, what you can afford, and what I can afford. Cut your coat according to your size, if you have size at all,” Tinubu said.
source: Channels TV
Follow us for more news on our WhatsApp News Channels @
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaC505jB4hdZ5Yx9g82U