The 36 state governors under the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Friday rejected the N60,000 debate for an acceptable minimum wage between the organized labour and the Federal Government, insisting that the amount is unmaintainable.
The Acting Director on Media Affairs and Public Affairs, Hajiya Halimah Salihu Ahmed made this known in a statement that was made available to newsmen in Abuja.
It would be recalled that on Monday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had embarked on indefinite strike action after rejecting the federal government’s N60, 000 offer as minimum wage.
But on Tuesday,after Federal Government had agreed to increase the minimum wage above 60,000,they announced that the strike action would be relaxed for a week.
According to the governors, a few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month, which may not be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.
The statement reads: “The forum’s stand on the: N60,000 minimum wage not sustainable: NGF
“The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is in agreement t hat a new minimum wage is due. The Forum also sympathises with labour unions in their push for higher wages.
“However, the Forum urges all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners.
“The NGF cautions parties in this important discussion to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.
“All things considered, the NGF holds that the N60,000 minimum wage proposal is not sustainable and can not fly. It will simply mean that many states will spend all their FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes. In fact, a few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month. We do not think this will be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.
“We appeal that all parties involved, especially the labour unions, consider all the socioeconomic variables and settle for an agreement that is sustainable, durable, and fair to all other segments of the society who have legitimate claim to public resources”.
Adeleke Maria
