NLC laments daily incident of armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorism

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Ayuba Wabba,
has decried the increased state of insecurity in the country.

Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President

Wabba, who disclosed this in a message to state Delegates Conference
of the Congress on Thursday, said 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.

Speaking on minimum wage, the NLC president, however, called on
workers to be conscious of the fact that 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 exclusivist 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.