THE prolonged negotiation between the Federal Government and the organised labour ended on a happy note late, on Tuesday, when the Federal Government announced that the minimum pay in the federal civil service and public service will be N18, 900, even as it signed what it hoped will be the final agreement with labour on the implementation of
the national minimum wage.
At the signing of the agreement at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in Abuja, on Tuesday evening, the Federal Government said, to ensure the implementation of the N18,900 and as a result of the consequential adjustments across board, it had to cough up an additional N11 billion per annum to the Federal Public Service Wage Bill, which has been approved by President Goodluck Jonathan.
Disclosing the Federal Government’s position were the SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, who led the meeting; the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, who signed as a witness to the agreement and the chairman, National Salaries and Wages Commission, Chief Richard Egbule.
Signatory to the agreement on the side of labour were the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar and the President-General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Peter Esele.
Senator Anyim said the negotiation was over and the time of war was certainly over, as both parties had agreed on what was acceptable to all.
He said: ”I’m most delighted also to behold you today in the warmest of mood, more particularly, I believe we have agreed with each other on what is acceptable and convenient for all of us.
“I sincerely commend the spirit and I pray that it will continue like this whenever there is disagreement whatever it might be or whatever it might involve, we should be able to sit over it and talk it over. I’m sure that Nigeria will be better for it and I’m also convinced that Nigerians are also happier that the system is not disrupted at any time.”
Chief Egbule, on the directive of the SGF read the agreement entitled: “Final agreement between the Federal Government and the labour movement represented by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage Act 2011.”
He said the Federal Government had agreed to comply with the new National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2011, and that in view of the contents of clause 3 of the agreement, “detailed negotiations were undertaken by a Technical Committee comprising representatives of both the Federal Government and labour movement to address the relativity implications of the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage Act, 2011.”
The Minister of Labour, Chief Wogu, thanked President Jonathan and the presidents of the NLC and TUC for the “patience, dedication and patriotic zeal exhibited by you all during this negotiation that lasted over three weeks, which led to the signing of two previous agreements and has culminated into the signing of this final agreement today, the 16th of August, 2011.”
The NLC president, Comrade Omar, said “today witnessed the zeal and signing of the agreement, but added that “it was not a tea party.”
However, he stated that the major segment has been achieved, stressing that what remained was the commencement of the implementation which should not exceed the time stipulated in the signed agreement.
Comrade Esele, President General of TUC said the government should learn from this and advised that as Nigerians, “we must all learn that subsequently, we won’t have to go through this long process of discussing and negotiating laws over and over again.”
Meanwhile, Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Tuesday, said state governors were already working towards paying the N18,000 minimum wage to workers, as prescribed by the law.
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