The Nigeria Labour Congress said that stringent measures are in place to ensure that states and employers implement the national minimum wage and the consequential adjustment before the end of March.
Mohammed Ibrahim, the President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, made this revelation on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ibrahim spoke at SSANU’s one day National Leadership Retreat organised for the union’s National Administrative Committee Members on Wednesday in Abuja.
The theme of the retreat was: “Leadership Challenges amongst Activists.”
Ibrahim, who is also the National Internal Auditor of the NLC, said that the measures were imperative due to the continuous delay by states and institutions to manipulate wage payments.
According to him, one of the issues in the implementation of the minimum wage is that of insincerity.
He said: “The national minimum wage has been signed into law, and payments should have commenced nationwide.
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“But in most institutions and states, what they did was just to award a certain amount or a figure they are merely using to play with the intelligence of workers as minimum wage.
“But I am happy that the NLC is not sleeping on this matter and we have been engaging.
“But going forward, I can assure you that we are taking very stringent measures to ensure that between now and the end of this first quarter, that the minimum wage and consequential adjustment will be implemented.
“Any state or employer of labour that refuses to implement the national minimum wage and the adjustment in workers’ salaries accordingly will face the consequences.
“The labour laws are there and we have all that it takes to enforce our rights against those employers.”
Ibrahim, while speaking on the theme of the retreat, said some members sabotaged strike actions, weakening the effectiveness of industrial actions.
“Unfortunately, some of our own members work against our collective struggle.
“They engage in blackmail and underhand dealings to derail strike actions.
“But this is not unique to SSANU; it happens in every sector.
“Part of why we are holding this retreat is to educate our members on the importance of unity and discipline within the union.”
Ibrahim also admitted that industrial actions had lost their effectiveness due to government’s indifference and workers’ fatigue.
He noted that while strikes remained a last resort, the union would explore alternative negotiation strategies.
He emphasised the need for continuous training of university staff and better funding of tertiary institutions.
The SSANU president, however, said that universities must remain the centres of learning and innovation, requiring continuous capacity building for staff.
He added: “As leaders of this great union, we must ensure that our national executives are equipped with the latest global trends.
“SSANU is an affiliate of NLC, and we have benefited from international training programmes.
“It is important that we bring this knowledge back home and share it at all levels.”
Those present at the retreat included the former NLC President, Ayuba Wabba; former SSANU President, Chief Promise Adeusi; and Director-General of the Institute of Mentoring and Coaching, Rotimi Mathew.
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