Minimum wage: State Govt-Labour meeting ends in deadlock again
•We’ve agreed to pay the new minimum wage, says Finance Commissioner
•State Govt can’t negotiate on behalf of the Local Govt workers – Governor’s spokesperson
•Local Govt, “consequential adjustment” made meeting end in a deadlock – source
The committee established to work on the implementation of N30,000 new national minimum wage has again failed to reach an agreement after the representatives of the State Government and labour rejected the proposed percentage increment in their meeting on Friday.
This came after the state government agreed to implement the new minimum wage.
Friday’s meeting ended in a deadlock after government representatives submitted adjustment which the labour leaders were not comfortable with.
A source close to the committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the new wage will have little effect on the current salary scale of level 7 to 14 that forms a large percentage of workers.
The source added that the labour also proposed what the state government was not ready to offer.
He said, “What we are pushing for is that government should adjust the minimum wage of those who are already on level one to level six to reflect the new minimum wage.
“Then officers on level 7 to 14 should also have a certain percent of increment of their salaries. Likewise those that are on level 15 to level 17. That will be fair enough to all and that is what is being proposed.
“But government does not want to do that, technically, they want to use the N18,000 minimum wage template, which will have a very little effect on the level 7 to 14 workers.
“Also the issue of Local Government workers is another grey area that made the meeting go into a deadlock. The government said they can’t negotiate on behalf of the Local Government workers.”
However, the State Commissioner of Finance and Planning, Mrs. Oyeyemi Olasumbo Florence speaking on a Sobi FM breakfast program tagged Rebirth Half Hour maintained that the State Government has agreed to pay the new 30,000 Minimum Wage, while talks are rightly ongoing on the negotiations of consequential adjustments.
Meanwhile, the Governor spokesperson, Rafiu Ajakaye said that “no worker employed by the Kwara State Government will earn below the minimum N30,000 wage legislated by the parliament and assented to by Mr President”.
“I must also note that the state government did not negotiate on behalf the Local Government authorities. That is in full respect for the NFIU Act. The Local Government Service Commission is to constitute a committee to negotiate with the labour unions on that,” he added.
