By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Governors of the 36 states have rejected the N60,000 national minimum wage earlier proposed by the federal government because it is not sustainable.
The governors made their position known on Friday under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).
They argued that agreeing to pay N60,000 per month for a level one civil servant in their states could mean using all their earnings from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for workers salaries.
According to them, the current economic realities will not enable them to continue paying this amount and still be able to carry out other government functions.
The group, headed by the Governor of Kwara State, Mr AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, acknowledged that a new minimum wage is due, but emphasised that things were beyond its control.
The governors said they sympathise with the organized labour push for a higher wage, but urged all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners.
The NGF, in a statement signed by its acting Director of Media and Press Affairs, Ms Halima Ahmed Yakubu, cautioned parties to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.
“NGF appeals to parties involved, especially the labour unions to consider all the socioeconomic variables and settle for an agreement that is sustainable, durable, and fair to all other segments of the society who have legitimate claim to public resources,” the statement noted.
Recall that the federal government proposed a new minimum wage of N60,000 to the organised labour union comprising the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) but was rejected because the workers demand N494,000.
The unions later embarked on a nationwide strike on Monday, which was later suspended the next day after the government promised to pay something higher than N60,000. The current minimum wage is N30,000, which had been in place for the past five years.
Adedapo Adesanya