Consequential Adjustment Threatens Full Implementation Of Minimum Wage In South-West States.
•Lagos, Ekiti start implementation as Ondo takes off January •Oyo, Osun, Ogun still negotiating
The full implementation of the new minimum wage of N30,000 by the end of January may be delayed by disagreement over consequential adjustment in some states across the South-West.
This is as some states are still negotiating with the organised labour on the implementation of the new wage structure.
While Ekiti State has commenced the full implementation of the new minimum wage for workers from level one to six since October 2019, civil servants from level seven to 17 are yet to start enjoying the new salary scale because of disagreement over the adjustment in their salary.
Also, in Osun State, the workers and government are yet to agree on the full implementation of the minimum wage and the table to be used for the consequential adjustment.
But the organised Labour in Ekiti State has said the workers would not accept from the state government anything short of the national template on the consequential adjustment over the new minimum wage.
The agreement reached between the Federal Government and representatives of labour shows that core civil servants on Grade Level 7 will get 23.2 per cent adjustment; Grade Level 8 (20 per cent), Grade Level 9 (19 per cent), Grade Levels 10-14 (16 per cent) and Grade Levels 15-17 (14 per cent).
Other workers on Grade Level 7 will be given (23.2 per cent), while Grade Levels 8-14 will earn (16 per cent) and Grade Levels 15-17 (10.5 per cent).
However, the Ekiti State government and the Organised Labour in the state have set up committees for discussion on the adjustment for other workers on the financial strength of the state.
Speaking to the Tribune Online secretary of the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) in the state, Mr Gbenga Olowoyo, said the committee had dissolved into technical groups which he said would provide the final agreement on the adjustment.
He disclosed that the organised Labour would reject any resolution that falls short of the one agreed to and send to states from the national level.
“As you know, the committee from the government and Labour has been constituted weeks ago. We had inaugural meeting thereafter which has now dissolved into technical committees for an agreement which will be in conformity with the template approved at the federal level.
“I have to say this that just as we await the final resolution on the consequential adjustment, anything short of the national template will be vehemently rejected because that is the standard,” Olowoyo said.
A Level 6 worker who gave his name as Sunday Adewale, told the Nigerian Tribune that he had been receiving the minimum wage since October, though “the difference in my salary is just about N7,000 now with the minimum wage. But the truth is that the governor has been paying for low-level workers since October 2019.”
On his part, a grade Level 10 worker who pleaded anonymity, said he is expecting quick resolution between the government and the Labour on the consequential adjustment.
But the Commissioner for Information, Mr Muyiwa Olumilua, expressed the government’s willingness to pay the consequential adjustment in accordance with the financial capacity of the state.
According to him, “one thing I will like you to remember is that Governor Kayode Fayemi was one of the first governors in Nigeria to agree to pay the N30,000 new minimum wage which we have even commenced payment to low-level workers.
“It is not the fact that we are running away from it but it is the consequential adjustment over the different paid grades. There is no point promising to pay what the state cannot afford to pay, that is the issue.
“This consequential adjustment has to vary from state to state. The issue is: have we agreed to pay? Yes. There is a committee put in place from the Labour and the government. Very soon all issues in this will be resolved.”
In Osun State, an investigation revealed that workers are yet to receive the new minimum wage as the Organised Labour and the government had not agreed on the modalities.
Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune, chairman of NLC, Osun State chapter, Comrade Jacob Adekomi, said the government was willing to pay, explaining that “we have not reached a conclusion on the consequential adjustments.”
According to him, “we have been meeting with the state government over the implementation of the new minimum wage. The only thing is that we have not agreed on the percentage. We have held about three meetings with the representatives of the state government.
“Our expectation is that very soon, we are going to reach a favourable conclusion. We met on Wednesday last week. The willingness of the state government to pay is there, but we have not concluded talks on the consequential adjustments. From our previous meetings, the government is ready to pay the new minimum wage.”
“The consequential adjustments have to do with the percentage to be added to each grade level as it was done by the Federal Government. As soon as we conclude talks on that, there will be nothing stopping the implementation of the new minimum wage in Osun State,” Adekomi asserted.
When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Mr Ismail Omipidan, said the state government had set up a committee on the implementation of the new minimum wage with the labour having representatives on the committee, adding that “we are awaiting the report of the committee.
But, findings indicated that workers in Osun have not started receiving the alerts for the new minimum wage as they are still being paid the old rates, regarding their monthly wage.
The Ondo State government and the leadership of the workers have agreed on the payment of the N30,000 minimum wage as from the end of January.
After a series of negotiations between the state government and the labour leaders in the state, the state government agreed to commence the payment of the new minimum wage from January 2020.
Negotiations between the state government and the organised Labour had earlier been suspended following the failure to reach a consensus on the new minimum wage.
The parties agreed on full payment of the new wage from level six downwards, while level seven and above had experienced a consequential adjustment
Speaking on the development, the state Head of Service, Mr Oluwadare Aragbaye, said 33 per cent had also been approved by the state government for those who retired before 2014 and peculiar allowances for some workers.
Aragbaye signed the agreement on the minimum wage on behalf of the government while the chairman of JNC, Mr Ilesanmi Oyesanmi; chairman of NLC and chairman, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Helen Odofin, signed on behalf of the workers.
Under the agreement, the public servants between Grade Level One and Six would enjoy the N30,000 new minimum wage, while workers on Grade Level 7 to 17 will enjoy consequential adjustment on their salaries.
According to the pact, the payment would take effect from January 1, as contained in the agreement which was signed after over eight negotiation meetings involving the parties, but Aragbaye maintained that the negotiations were carried out with sincerity and in the interest of the generality of workers in the state.
The Chief of Staff to the state governor, Chief Olugbenga Ale, also assured the workers in the state that the payment will take effect from this month, saying the workers will soon start to receive an alert, as civil servants and other members of the state’s workforce are in a frenzy mood over the development.
Some workers who spoke to our correspondent expressed joy over the new development and said they were impressed with the governor’s unflinching commitment to workers’ welfare.
However, the state chairman of NLC, Mr Sunday Adeleye-Oluwole, assured the workers that the state government would not disengage any worker before implementing the new minimum wage.
He disclosed that the delay in the approval of the minimum wage and its implementation was due to the insistence of the workers led by JNC, NLC and TUC to get a better package for the workers and pensioners.
The NLC chairman said that the new salary tables on minimum wage presented by the state government were being critically studied to ensure that the implementation of the new minimum would not lead to mass retrenchment.
Adeleye-Oluwole assured that the new minimum wage would capture special allowances for the media, judiciary, parliamentary and health workers and appealed to the state workforce to exercise patience.
When asked of other plans by the labour union if the government failed to fulfil the payment of the new salary, Adeleye expressed optimism that the state government will not go back on the agreement.
He said: “Please don’t doubt this, Akeredolu will not promise what he cannot do. As I speak with you, we are just rising from another meeting this morning, and I can assure you that there’s no going back on the agreement. The state government has done wonderfully well. Workers will soon be receiving alerts.”
However, reports from Ogun State indicated that the state government and the workers have also not agreed on the payment of the N30,000 minimum wage.
The Ogun State chairman of NLC, Comrade Emmanuel Bankole, said the organised Labour and the government have made substantial progress negotiating the implementation of the new minimum wage.
He said this in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune that discussions are on the issues of arrears and specialised salary structure which are yet to be resolved.
Bankole said: “In Ogun State, we have made substantial progress in the cause of ongoing negotiations. However, our meeting of last week Monday ended in a deadlock because we could not agree on the issue of arrears and specialised salary tables. The government team said it does not have a mandate from the governor to address the issues.”
In the same vein, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Olatokunbo Talabi, said negotiation was in progress.
Lagos State is, however, the only state with no issue about the payment of the new wage structure as it has commenced implementation of N35,000 minimum wage since November last year.
While the approved amount by the Federal Government was N30,000, Lagos State, given its economic status as the richest state in the country with an Internally Generated Revenue of N35 billion monthly, promised to pay its workers N35,000 minimum wage as against the N30,000 promised by the Federal Government.
The payment, according to findings, followed the agreement reached on Friday, November 15, 2019, between the JNC and the Lagos State government where all arrangements were concluded to commence the payment of the new minimum wage and the consequential adjustment rates to public workers in the November 2019 salary cycle.
According to the agreement reached between workers and the government, workers on GL. 01-06 will enjoy N35,000, while those on GL. 07 would enjoy 30 per cent and those on GL. 08-10 would enjoy 25 per cent. Those on the higher grade of GL. 12-14 are to enjoy 22.5 per cent, while senior government officials on GL. 15-17 are now enjoying 20 per cent.
“On payment of arrears, the new Minimum Wage Act came into effect on April 18, 2019; as such, it was agreed that payment of the six and half months arrears shall be made and concluded by the first quarter of 2020,” said a statement on the implementation of the minimum wage.
However, in Oyo State, the government and workers are yet to finalise negotiation on the implementation of a minimum wage due to the ongoing biometric verification for civil and public servants.
But the committee set up by the government is still meeting to reach an agreement on the modalities for the payment.
It was gathered that the main issue being argued at the negotiation is the consequential adjustment for workers on grade level seven and above.
About a month after resumption of office as governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde had raised an alarm about the increase in the state’s wage bill by about N1billion, hence the need for staff verification to know the real number of workers on its payroll.
In the verification exercise that began last year, being conducted by Sally Tibbot, local government workers, primary school teachers, tertiary institution workers and pensioners are currently being screened at the state’s Secretariat, Ibadan.
At the formal inauguration of the minimum wage negotiation committee headed by Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun on January 9, 2020, Governor Makinde had urged the committee to consider adding at least a naira more to the N30,000 National minimum wage figure.
This mandate to surpass the national minimum wage peg, he said, was in ensuring that the state lives up to its being referred to as a pacesetter.
Since its inauguration, the committee has met for at least five times with the issue of consequential adjustment hot on the negotiating table.
According to the chairman of JNC, Mr Emmanuel Ogundiran, consequential adjustment for those already earning above N30,000, that is level 7 and above is the real matter being negotiated.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the negotiation reached an advanced stage at the last committee meeting held last Thursday and the committee is billed to paint scenarios of the consequential adjustment when it meets with Governor Seyi Makinde.
Agreements on the consequential adjustments will be based on the income of the state and commitment of the workforce to working with the state government to improve the Internally Generated Revenue of the state.
“As of now, Oyo State is yet to finalise negotiation. Apart from looking at the revenue of the state, we are trying to see whether Sally Tibbot will complete its assignment on time so that we know the real wage bill and what other things that are added that are wage-related.
“Let’s know what the percentage of wage in relation to the wage bill. So negotiation is ongoing. Level 1 to 6 is not the problem but consequential adjustment for those already earning above N30,000.
“From Level 1-6 hitherto, we were the least but with the minimum wage, they have come to level with their contemporaries in the South West.
“We know that payment of N30,000 is not the real issue but the consequential adjustment. There have been so many scenarios painted,” Ogundiran told the press
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