NASS will fast track passage of minimum wage bill Ohuanbuwa
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by joan nwagwu2 but the federal government had also resolved to set up a joint government labour committee to begin negotiation1 sen. mao ohuanbuwa deputy chairman of the senate committee on labour made this known while speaking with newsmen on friday in geneva switzerland1 ohuanbuwa said that the senate president had already given the assurance that the bill would be given express hearing and passage by the legislature1 he said w are going to fast track the bill for accelerated passage and that is what the senate president had said1 it is unfortunate that both the ministry and the executive have been going back and forth. we thought that by now that would have been resolved1 so we are looking forward to that bill because it is going to come out as an executive bill1 we are looking forward to rounding off or concluding that bill before we go on our annual break1 but the way it is it looks like we are going to wait. you know there is little or nothing we can do because it is an executive responsibility1 they are the ones who will make the payment. ours is that we have to support and agree that there is very urgent need to review the minimum wage1 he said the need to review the minimum wage is sacrosanct1 but we cannot go ahead as a parliament to legislate on that without the executive coming up with a bill. we are waiting for them to do that1 we will allow the executive and the labour leaders to resolve their differences. what we had promised and we still stand on is that once that bill comes to us we are going to give it accelerated hearing1 he called on the federal government and the organised labour to resolve their differences on the issue of the new national minimum in the interest of nigerian workers1 the national assembly will fast track the passage of the new national minimum wage bill once the executive bill is sent to it1 on whether the national assembly allow labour matters to remain on the exclusive legislative or concurrent list1 he said that but personally and since i am one of the advocate of devolution i still believe that the issue of labour should go into concurrent list1 he said that because there are states which can decide to negotiate with labour and pay within their limits. you cannot compare somebody working in abuja with somebody working in zamfara1 they can look at the rate of transport accommodation feeding and all that. they are not the same and you cannot compare abuja level to zamfara or bayelsa1 so you should allow the states some liberty to negotiate and decide and have their own pay. the only thing the federal government can do is decide what the minimum wage would be1 as some states can pay some cannot pay and you can see the level of wage debt across the country. most states cannot pay1 so we can allow some freedom. it is just like in the oil companies. they dont pay the same rates construction companies dont pay the same rate1 even in nigeria if you are working in the ministry you do not earn the same pay with a person working in central bank or in nnpc he explained1 also speaking to newsmen sen. chris ngige minister of labour and employment said that the september date for the minimum wage was just a target date1 ngige said that the minimum wage might not be feasible in september due to the processes and procedures involved1 he explained that the tripartite committees the report would pass through the federal executive council and the national economic council before an executive bill is sent to the national assembly for passage1 nlc and tuc had on may 1 jointly proposed n56000 as new national minimum wage since the existing wage was due for review on the basis of the extant labour law1 ohuanbuwa said that states should be allowed to negotiate with labour on what they would be able to pay1