By Victor Ahiuma-Young

NIGERIA Labour Congress, NLC, has resolved to work with industrial unions and state councils to force  state governors owing workers’ salaries  to pay up, saying workers must be paid their legitimate earnings.

At the end of its National Executive Council, NEC, the Ayuba Wabba faction of NLC, decried reported action of some banks withholding the bailout fund, and mandated the leadership of Congress to identify the banks and take whatever action deemed necessary to stop them from holding Nigerian workers to ransom

In a communiqué by the factional President and General Secretary, Ayuba Wabba and Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, NEC members commended “the Federal Government for releasing funds to the states which were intended to assist states in meeting their overdue obligations, especially the payment of workers’ salaries and pensions, some of which it noted, were in arrears of between two to seven months.

Pensions and gratuities arrears, in many cases, are up to 12 or more months.

“The NEC noted that the failure of these states to pay salaries and pensions is not due only to the paucity of funds, but mismanagement and wrong prioritisation. It, therefore,  commended the recommendation by the Presidency that salaries should be put in first line charge in state budgetary allocations.”

According to the communique, “NEC resolved to liaise with the respective state Houses of Assembly to ensure that salaries and pensions of workers are henceforth put on first line charge of state budgets. the NEC of Congress further resolved that the leadership should mobilize industrial union presidents and general secretaries to all the states owing three or more months in salaries, to ensure that the indebted states are compelled to pay workers their legitimate earnings.

“Regarding the reported action of some banks withholding the bailout fund, NEC mandated the leadership of Congress to identify these banks and take whatever action it deems necessary to stop these banks from holding Nigerian workers to ransom.”

The communiqué added that “the NEC-in-Session, after reviewing the deteriorating purchasing power of Nigerian workers caused by the massive devaluation of the naira, as well as the fact that the Minimum Wage Act of 2011 has reached its statutory five year mark for review, mandated the national leadership to draw up a new proposal for the upward review of the current N18, 000 national minimum wage.

“This proposal shall upon completion, be tabled before the Federal Government, which shall empanel, as is the normal practice, a tripartite committee, comprising government, employers and organised labour to negotiate a new national minimum wage. NEC hopes that the negotiations will be completed in time for the new minimum wage to be reflected in the 2016 national and state budgets.”