Pay new wage or quit, Labour tells governorsBEFORE Nigerian workers yesterday in Abuja, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan highlighted his achievements since he assumed office on May 5, 2010. .He also unfolded the next phase of his administration, as he declared that so far he had kept faith with his promises to Nigerians and the working class.The President told the workers, who gathered in Abuja to mark this years May Day that having conducted a successful general election and fulfilled his promise to improve on their welfare through a new national wage, he is shifting focus to the power sector, ending fuel importation, and provision of infrastructure in the coming years. .The President, who was represented at the event by the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, said he promised to deliver free, fair and credible elections and had done that, thereby restoring the pride of Nigeria in the comity of nations.Jonathan said his government would soon begin the construction of a railway line from Lagos to Ibadan in Oyo State, the dredging of the River Benue up to Yola in Adamawa State and intensify its efforts on the construction or completion of more plants to boost power generation. .The President recalled that the demands of Labour last year included signing of the National minimum Wage Bill and credible elections, which he had met. .The theme of the 2011 Workers Day is Growing the national economy for job creation and peoples welfare.He also reminded the workers that he recently signed into law the Employee Compensation Act to ensure adequate compensation for accident victims, mental stress and occupational diseases in the course of their jobs.Jonathan reassured that his government remains committed to policies that would ensure employment generation and creating a vibrant economy to enhance the standard of living of Nigerians.He added that the just-concluded elections had become a reference point in the world, assuring that with the building of greenfield refineries, petrochemical and fertiliser plants, fuel importation will soon end. .Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chukwuemeka Wogu, in his solidarity message, said the government would continue to evolve policies that would facilitate and strengthen mutual trust, understanding and co-operation among all the social partners as essential instruments for industrial peace and economic growth.He said a law would soon be enacted to outlaw the movement of workers in caravans by construction companies in the country. .The minister said: One of the identified safety hazards is the transportation of construction workers in vehicles, which are not meant for human beings. My ministry is working on policies to eradicate such inhuman treatment by making continued use of such mode of transportation illegal. .Wogu also added that a solvent compensation fund would soon be established and managed in the interest of employees and employers for adequate compensation to workers, disability or disease arising from or in the course of employment.The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which admitted that there were modest achievements, however, lamented that the economy had continued to under-perform over six per cent growth amidst 12.8 per cent inflation rate. .The NLC President, Abdulwaheed Omar, therefore urged Jonathan to strive to repay the Nigerian people that invested their votes on him with good performance in office.We also wish to use this occasion to commend Mr. President for the singular foresight of appointing a man of integrity, courage and passion for democracy in our country to steer the affairs of the electoral body. For this and your victory at the polls, you deserve this mandate of the people, but you must make a commitment to the Nigerian people that you will apply the same objectivity, courage, political will and foresight in ensuring that the success at turning the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) around which had led to the remarkable improvement in elections and electoral process will permeate your policies and actions in other sectors of the polity for the benefit of the people, he said. .The NLC chief also lamented that incentives to the real sectors of the economy had remained inadequate, but lauded the stability in the banking sector.With the signing of the minimum wage bill into law by the President, the struggle for its implementation may now shift to the states. .Giving an insight into the impending protest against any state that is reluctant to pay the new wage, the NLC warned state governors, who would be quick to citing lopsidedness of revenue allocation formula, to have a rethink over the matter.He declared that no state governor is indispensable and that anyone that complains about inability to pay should make way for another person that can implement the new pay.Omar said: While we agreed that it is time to review the revenue allocation, we, however, feel that non-revision of revenue allocation cannot be an excuse for not implementing the new minimum wage. Therefore, any governor that cannot pay the new wage as approved by the President should resign from office. Once a law is passed, everybody must obey it.Labour also called for the movement of pecks and salaries of elected public office holders to the Wages and Salaries Commission, adding that through this, the specific amount an elected officer gets will be within the public domain.Meanwhile, the Presidency has used the Workers Day celebration to again plead with electricity workers to see reasons and support the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and its subsidiaries. The government said N154 billion had been set aside to take care of their benefits.In a message to the workers yesterday, the Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Power (PTFP) and Special Adviser to the President on Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, assured them that their welfare would be paramount as the reform progresses. .The statement read in part: We appeal to the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) to approach the negotiations over the reform in a spirit of partnership. The power sector reform is a historic opportunity for Nigeria to finally resolve our perennial power crisis and make Nigeria work for everyone, especially the teeming army of unemployed youths. The reform of the telecommunications sector and the growth in services and employment has shown what we can achieve with the right policies. The government is committed to making current workers in the power sector, PHCN workers, the first beneficiaries of reform and investment in the industry.The Jonathan Goodluck administration paid the N57 billion of monetisation benefits that PHCN workers had been owed for seven years and is reserving some shares in the PHCN successor companies for PHCN workers. It has also set aside the sum of N154 billion to pay PHCN workers benefits when the Federal Government relinquishes management control of the PHCN companies. This reflects the governments commitment to once and for all resolve Nigerias power crisis. We again pledge our commitment to amicably resolve all outstanding issues with your unions.Noting that there was no going back on governments commitment to successfully completing the on-going power sector reform, Nnaji reassured all Nigerian workers that the principal objective of the reform is to create jobs and improve the condition of the workers.
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