The Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC), has expresses disillusion over
the increased state of insecurity (killings, kidnapping) in the country.
In a message to state
Delegates during the Conference of the Congress on Thursday, the president, Mr
Ayuba Wabba, says that the current security system has failed the country.
“There is hardly any day
that passes without one incident of armed robbery, kidnap for ransom, militancy
or terrorism attack making headlines.
“We call on government at
both federal and state levels to urgently rejig our security architecture,
structure, and management.
“Clearly, the current
approach has failed. We also call for a robust and sustainable response to
renewed security challenges in our country.
“Even if that means an
increase in the budget for internal security so long it is judiciously and
transparently used.
“The political arena offers
one of the most effective spaces for tackling almost all the challenges that we
have already highlighted to bring about socioeconomic transformation.
“Unfortunately, the conduct
of the last general election left a lot of sour taste in the mouth,‘’ he said.
The NLC president, however,
called on workers to be conscious of the fact that minimum wage was not a gift
to them from government.
He called on employers of
labour to commence the implementation of the new minimum wage immediately.
“The upward review of the
national minimum wage is not so much a gift as it is the right of workers. This
right was delayed for too long.
“As Mr President ordered
during the signing into law of the National Minimum Wage (2019) Amendment Bill,
we call on all employers of labour to commence payment immediately.
“I urge the incoming
leadership of our state councils to make the immediate payment of the new
national minimum wage of N30,000 and review of monthly pension by state
governments your top priority.
“We have crossed the bridge
of the debate whether state governments can pay the new national minimum wage
or not.
“The feedback we got from
the nationwide rallies for a new national minimum wage which took place in
January 2019 indicated that most state governments are willing to pay the new
national minimum wage once Mr President grants his assent.
“The truth is that if state
governments cut down on the high cost of governance and corruption, they will
be more than able to pay the new national minimum wage of N30,000,‘’ he said.
Wabba urged the leadership
of various state councils to emerge from the conferences to push for the
implementation of the new wage by state government.
He said that the NLC
completely rejected proposals to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) as a means
of funding the 2019 budget.
Wabba warned that any
increase in VAT or Pay As You Earn (PAYE) would rob workers of the minimal
relief from the increase in the new wage.
The labour leader urged the
government to consider other progressive ways of financing the budget.
He added that government
should adopt progressive taxation in a manner that captures more people in the
tax net and also ensures that luxury items were properly taxed.
“High inflation and poor
salaries have combined to erode the purchasing power of workers. The design of
our economy is essentially rent-seeking and exclusive thus undermining
productivity and job creation.
“Our industrial base is
almost totally decimated due to the erratic power supply, shabby physical
infrastructure, and poor policy choices. This leaves us with an economy stuck
in the backwaters of subsistence production.
“Succinctly put, we have
managed to develop an economy that specialises in exporting jobs and prosperity
and importing joblessness, poverty and misery,’’ he said.
Wabba, however, condemned
the continuous privatisation of major assets in the country.
He said the commanding
heights of the economy were given to private interests with little or no
commitment to nation-building and social progress.
He also counselled the
government against contemplating any increase in the price of refined petroleum
products especially the Premium Motor Spirit. (NAN)
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