There are strong indications that the scheduled nationwide strike may be suspended, owing to emerging developments from the ongoing Tripartite Committee meeting on the new minimum wage.
Feelers from the meeting show that Federal and subnational government may concede to Organised labour’s demand for N30,000 new minimum wage, against the N24,000 and N22,500 proposed which led to the crisis.
However at the resumed negotiation, five out of the six representatives of Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) were absent at the meeting holding at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (oSGF).
As at the commencement of the negotiation at 11:30am, only Governor Atiku Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State is in attendance till 7pm.
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Those absent are: Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State (South West), Governor Rochas Okorocha, Imo State (South East) Governor Hassan Dankwambo, Gombe State (South East), Governor Nyesom Wike, Rivers State (South South); Governor Simon Lalong, Plateau State (North Central), and A. B. Okauru, Director General of Nigerian Governors Forum as Observer.
Speaking earlier at the opening of the meeting, Ama Pepple, Chairman, National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee expressed optimism that the ongoing Tripartite Negotiation meeting on the new minimum wage would be fruitful and mark the end of the one year long negotiation.
Pepple also called for the cooperation of all the parties with the view to avert the Tuesday’s nationwide strike declared by the Organised Labour.
The Federal Government’s team at the meeting are: Permanent Secretary in the office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Zenab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, Udo Udoma, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Richard Egbule, chairman, National Salaries Income Wages Commission.
However, only Governor Atiku Aubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State was in attendance as at the time of filing this report.
Those present at the meeting from Organised labour are: Ayuba Wabba, NLC President, Igwe Achese, deputy President of United Labour Congress (ULC); Bala Kaigama, President Trade Union Congress (TUC).
From the Organised Private Sector, those present are representatives of Nigerian Employment Consultative Association (NECA) and NACCIMA.
The report of the agreement reached at the meeting is to be presented to the Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation for onward transmission to Mr. President.
While leaving the venue of the meeting at about 4:30pm, Zeinab Ahmed, Minister of Finance declined to respond to questions from Labour Correspondents.
Meanwhile, the meeting is expected to end in the next few minutes, according to an official of the oSGF assigned to address Labour Correspondents.
Nigeria’s fragile economy risk moving back to recession if the federal government did not resolve it’s minimum wage dispute with labour,analysts have said.
Nigeria,it would be recalled exited recession according to the Nationl Bureau of Statistics GDP report in Q2 of 2017 after suffering contraction for five consecutive qauters.
However, experts are worried that if the government did not handle the issue of negotiations of minimum wage with the Organised labour,it would take its toll negatively on the economy,with the possibility of pushing the already fragile economy back to recession.
Tonye Ejinkonye, Vice President of the National Association of Commerce and Industry, Mines and Agriculture told BusinessDay that: “Regrettably, this is a problem that the government could have addressed long ago. In fairness to labour,this is the something they have been agitating for long ago.”
Ejinkonye argued that: “The federal government has been given more than enough space to come to a reasonable arrangement by now I just hope and believe that the meeting they are having today, as I understand that the labour has agreed to meet with the federal government team – the tripartite team, the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and other teams.
“We sincerely hope that reason would prevail. Our economy is very fragile at this moment. We don’t need this kind of situation make the economy more precarious,because we are going to loose more in wasted resources and time.
“The economy would take a bit heat, once the sector goes on strike and it is going to be a general strike involving the aviation and other key sectors.
”Even with the threat action,the Nigerian economy is already being threatened and is already loosing a lot. Go to ATMS and see how people are making last minute withdrawals to prepare to the industrial action. Go to the satellite towns you see people in the various markets buying up food stuffs preparatory to the industrial action,” he said.
In a similar submission, Celestine Okeke, Lead Partner Micro Small and Medium Advocacy Initiative, told BusinessDay that once the labour goes to another strike, it compounds the already existing economic problems we have.
“We are already nearing recession,it is not as if we have left recession completely. It is more of a technical thing,and you recall the National Bureau of Statistics cautioning the people that it is not yet ‘uhuru’ when we celebrated the technical exit from recession.
“Mind you,we any careless economic step we take now,would just land us into the complete recession mess again.”
In further observations, he said: “The government needs to be sincere in its negotiations and come out plain on its stands and not make any attempt to lord it over to incoming government perhaps because most of them don’t believe in the terms of negotiations. Take for instance the ASUU strike,the negotiating government I make bold to say don’t have strong template for its implementation. That is why we keep having that issue causing us lot of problems.
“Government must be firm and explore all the avenues to ensure we don’t put the economy into another distress with another industrial action,since the economy has been under serious stress with many industries retrenching their staff on the back of effects of wrong economic policies of government,” he added.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
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