Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

NECA urges FG to set up tripartite committee on national minimum wage

By Toyin Olasinde
04 May 2017   |   4:09 am
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), has expressed its displeasure at the turn of event at the Workers Day Celebration in Abuja with the disruption

Olusegun Oshinowo, NECA Director General.

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), has expressed its displeasure at the turn of event at the Workers Day Celebration in Abuja with the disruption of activities by aggrieved workers allegedly due to the non-resolution of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) issue.

Workers, who had barred government officials, which included the leadership of the National Assembly, and some Federal ministers from delivering their prepared addresses, disrupted the event.

Reacting to the incident, the Director General of NECA, Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, noted that: “the unfortunate incident was needless and avoidable if Government had proactively done the needful,”.

He noted that there was indeed an understanding that the National Minimum Wage would be due for discussion after five years.

In effect, the 2011 agreement, ordinarily, should have been open for discussion in 2016. Government should not have waited for workers’ repeated clamour for discussions before acting in good faith”

Oshinowo averred that “there is a time-tested and enshrined procedure for the discussion of the National Minimum Wage, which is premised on the principle of Social Dialogue and Collective Bargaining among the Tripartite. This entails the setting up of a National Minimum Wage Committee, comprising representatives of the Federal Government, led by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, state Governments, usually represented by three State governors, Employers in the Private Sector under the aegis of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and Organised Labour as represented by NLC and TUC.”

According to NECA, “what Government must do, therefore, without delay is to immediately constitute the Committee and convene a meeting to start off the discussions on the NMW.”

In this article

0 Comments