The inability of the Federal Government and Houses of Assembly as well as the reluctance of Labour to seek judicial redress against governors not implementing national minimum wage will frustrate the new wage floor.

President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, hinted that NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) would unfold implementation strategies after negotiations.

He stated this In Abuja, yesterday, while receiving a delegation from the Kogi State government. On states not paying the existing N30,000 minimum wage, Ajaero explained that organised labour had not released any list, but relied on the list released by the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.

He said: “When negotiations are concluded, we will decide how to implement it. The list of states not paying the N30, 000 minimum wage was not compiled by us. The Federal Ministry of Finance did it. That is where probably the names of Kogi, Anambra and others come in.

“Though we have confirmed that some states are paying the minimum wage, others are not paying. Now that Kogi has told us they are paying, we will confirm.”

Special Adviser to the Kogi State Governor on Labour Matters, Onu Edoka, expressed disappointment at the inclusion of Kogi on the list of defaulting states not implementing the national wage floor, despite payment of minimum wage since Governor Usman Ododo assumed office.

The state pledged to implement whatever figure is agreed upon as the new minimum wage and whenever the law takes effect.As of May 2024, about 15 states were allegedly not implementing the national minimum wage. They include Abia, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Gombe, Niger, Borno, Sokoto, Anambra, Imo, Benue, Taraba and Zamfara.

With allocation from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) doubling in the last year after the subsidy on petrol was removed and the foreign exchange market liberalised, which saw the naira exchanging for about N1,500 to one dollar, there is still no evidence that salary payment improved across the state, barring Edo and Lagos that were reportedly paying above N30, 000.

The National Minimum Wage Act 2019, which was signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari on April 18, 2019, clearly defines punishment to be meted to defaulters.

General Secretary of Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Associated Institutions (NASU), Peters Adeyemi, said: “Labour must find a way to ensure that state governments implement the law when it is passed by the National Assembly.”

According to him, the national secretariats of both NLC and TUC must be alert to their responsibilities of making sure every Nigerian worker gets correct salaries at the end of every month, urging governors who cannot pay the minimum wage to resign.

“The governors were elected to solve problems and not to lament. Any governor who thinks the responsibilities of governance are too much for him should resign. No law says a governor must be in office for four or eight years. Once the job is too much, they should learn to quit. Labour will no longer allow non-payment of salaries to go unchecked,”Adeyemi declared.

At least, 31 state governments have collectively borrowed N457.17 billion to pay salaries to their respective state civil services.

This significant financial move was facilitated through the Salary Bailout Facility (SBF), a strategic intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aimed at alleviating the fiscal pressures faced by the states.

Established in August 2015, the SBF was designed to help state governments clear the backlog of salaries. A fiscal governance expert and Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, said the political elite were, by their actions, calling for mass revolt against subjugation and slavery-like conditions of work.

“This is unacceptable,” he said. “Workers should rebel against tyranny, since the thieving leaders have decided to operate outside of the rule of law. The constitution is clear on a uniform minimum wage.”

Professor of Economics at Lead City University, Ibadan, Godwin Oyedokun, agrees that there are challenges with enforcing a national minimum wage because there is no clear penalty for states not paying the agreed wage.

However, he said states have varying financial capabilities, making it difficult for a single minimum wage to fit all. “A possible way out would be to allow states to negotiate based on their economic realities.”

While advocating stronger worker unions to negotiate better wages at the state and local levels, Oyedokun said the ideal solution involves striking a balance between a national standard and recognition of state-specific challenges. (The Guardian)

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