By Victor Ahiuma-Young

INDICATIONS have emerged that the private sector unions whose members earn more than the N18.000 new minimum wage, will still be favoured by the new wage.

Union leaders are already exploring options to ensure that their members benefit from the new wage.

Private sector has an established method of effecting wage review. This is done biannually, under Collective Bargaining Agreement, CBA, where union leaders and employers meet to either have only wage adjustment or have the conditions of service reviewed as well.

This is done under the National Joint Negotiating Council, NJIC, comprising union leaders and employers’ federation representatives.

While some are going ahead with their statutory CBA, others are exploring the option of the differential between the old N7.500 national minimum wage and the N18.000 new minimum wage.

Before President Goodluck Jonathan signed the new wage into law on March 15, 2011, investigation by Labour Vanguard revealed that in the Maritime industry, the lowest paid private sector worker (Dockworker) earned N33.000. After the N18.000 new minimum wage became law, a 15 percent increase was secured by the union pushing it up about N38.000.

Anthony Nted, President-General MWUN

President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Comrade Anthony Emmanuel Nted, told Labour Vanguard, that “N38.000 is without over times and some other benefits or allowances.”

In the  Shop and Distributive sector, the least paid workers, according to an officer of the National Union of Shop Distributive Employees, NUSDE, who spoke to Labour Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said the least paid workers in the sector, earns N30.000

The officer said “we will definitely benefit from the minimum wage. We are only waiting for the public sector to begin implementation before we kick-start our own.”

President of the National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees, NUFBTE, Comrade Lateef Oyelekan, said members would definitely benefit from the new minimum wage.

Comrade Oyelakan who declined disclosing what the lowest paid worker in the sector earns, said “we earn far above the new minimum wage. But we know that in most cases, we work out the differential between the last minimum wage and what is paid in the sector.

Similarly, the General Secretary of Steel and Engineering Workers Union, SEWUN, Comrade Kazim Kadri, said “the least paid workers in the sector receives N21.500.

We are going to work out and the differential between the last minimum wage, which was N7.500 and the sector’s wage before the new increment, which is N21.500. Besides that, our normal CBA is due for a review in October. We have already written to our employers about it. So, we are going to explore several options.”

Employers’ position

Victor Eburajolo, member, NECA's governing council

Speaking on the new minimum wage and how the private sector employees will benefit from it, a member of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA,’s Governing Council, Mr. Victor Eburajolo, advised state governors to respect the nation’s law and pay the new wage instead of throwing the whole country into an avoidable strike.

Mr. Eburajolo who is also the Group Deputy Managing Director, Kewalran Chanrai Group, said: “This issue of the national minimum wage has presented us as a disorganised people.

How can state governments who were represented at the discussion came out to say they cannot pay? Why did they not speak out during the discussions? Do they think Nigerians are not reasonable? They want to use the workers’ heads to negotiate petrol subsidy or a restructure of federal government revenue.

Why will they think they can use the Nigerian workers for their battles? I think they are just being dishonest. The minimum wage was not something negotiated between organized labour and the organized private sector. It is a matter of law.

Thank God for people like Adams Oshiomhole who knows what is at stake. Our legislators, what are they earning? Not just what they are earning, look at their expenses.

Their job is supposed to be part time. If people doing part time job can earn so much gratuities for working for four years, why should the governors claim they cannot pay just N18.000 to workers who are doing full time job? “

“If the economy is growing, people in positions will be able to plan and do things accordingly. But virtually all of us are living from hand to mouth because we have destroyed the economy.

What is N18.000? Convert it with the exchange rate and see that it is nothing, yet the governors want labour to throw us into crisis. In any case, those in government will not have any crisis because what do they produce, and how do you measure their productivity.

But for those in the private sector, if there is a shut down, we can calculate what we are going to lose, it does not make sense for people to throw the nation into an avoidable industrial strike. You cannot be dishonest to your people, your own people that elected you.”

On how private sector will benefit, he said, “At any given time when they negotiate minimum wage in this country, the private sector usually look at what the government is paying and maintain what is called parity.

If today that it has come to N18.000, how much is government paying before? N7.500, and by the time government was paying this amount, what were we paying in the different industries? So, you know the difference, you then take the difference and add to your present salary.

Sometimes, we break it down to grade or across board. So, I do not think it is going to be a problem. We call it maintaining parity because; let me tell you, the productivity of workers in the private sector, you can measure,but the one in government, you cannot measure.

I do not think that should create any problem for private sector unless maybe we want to renew ways of doing it. But the proper adjustment will be made.

You do not expect somebody who was pay N20.000 before and now that the minimum wage is N18.000 and he will say he will not make up the difference, no. It will not create any problem at all.