By
Anas Sani Anka
Mixed reactions have already trailed the implementation of the N70,0000 new minimum wages by the current administration of Dauda Lawal.
All over the social media, crazy views and perceptions have been created, and I think it is only fair if the appropriate body come out to enlighten the workers about what actually happened.
Senior civil servants have been making outcries over what they termed as “least of their expectations” in terms of what they anticipated to gain as an addition from the old scale of N30,000.
The debate about implementation of new minimum wage is not new because logically “minimum impression” always tends to favor those civil servants at minimum cadre while those at the senior cadre always enjoyed what many calls “consequential adjustment”.
Now implementation of the minimum wages always comes with variance, especially at state levels. This is because of some unique peculiarities in terms of economic strengths of some states over others and availability of cash flow in terms of sources of revenue.
It is normal whenever a new minimum wages is to be implemented, a committee is usually constituted with government representatives and that of labor unions, particularly NLC and TUC.
Ordinary negotiation is entered, and a payment scale is agreed upon, and the government typically make available the indices as per revenue cash flow and negotiated these indices for consequential adjustment to civil servants at the senior cadre while those at the minimum cadre do not always have issue because the minimum benchmark agreed upon is always implemented.
Now, even before the implementation, the labor unions, particularly NLC and TUC who are part of the negotiation team, have a duty to create a forum of interaction with the workers and explain to them the scale agreed upon and why.
This is the standard expected of the labor unions world over so that workers can be educated on certain decisions taken and why.
If they have done this earlier, all these public outcries wouldn’t have gone viral because at least workers likely to be affected are better informed of the real situation of things and make them lower their ambitions.
But now mixed reactions are trending and labor unions who are part of the negotiation team on behalf of the workers have kept mute as if they do not owe workers of Zamfara the right of explanation.
This is very wrong because even though I am not holding brief for the government but if the labor unions who are part of the negotiation do not agreed to the scale implemented government wouldn’t have unilaterally implemented it at least that is the essence of having negotiation team, they are to negotiate between both the government and workers in the state.
For now, I advise the government of Zamfara not put in any defense mechanisms but allow the leadership of the labor union to speak to the workers because the burden shift on to them now.
The Labour leadership should always consider it a responsibility owe to workers to always speak to them on matters that affect them, not an option for living a comfort and luxury life at the detriment of the majority of the workers who voted for the leadership to serve.
I think if there are any discrepancies in the area of consequential adjustment in this new minimum wages implemented by Zamfara State government, the labor leaders in Zamfara especially NLC and TUC shall come out to tell the state workers what they have negotiated with the government and why?
I rest my case.
