Between Wednesday and Thursday next week, the three major organs of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) will meet to discuss the implementation of the new state minimum wage.
These are; the National Administrative Council (NAC), the Central Working Committee and the National Executive Council.
Plans are under ways to meet with state chairmen of the 36 state councils and national to take a decision after some states failed to conclude negotiations on consequential adjustments with labour leaders in their domains.
TUC President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, and its Secretary-General, Comrade Musa-Lawal Ozigi, confirmed the meeting in separate interviews on Friday.
Olaleye said: “The TUC have called for a meeting next week to review the process and decide the next line of action.”
Ozigi said all the states council chairmen are expected to bring their reports for review at the meeting.
About 15 states have yet to conclude negotiations on the new Minimum Wage with labour leaders in their states after the December 31 deadline issued by organised labour to governors to sign agreements with their workers on consequential adjustments.
The states—Ekiti, Cross River, Benue, Gombe, Osun, Sokoto, Oyo, Niger, Ogun, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers, Kwara, Taraba and Anambra—are yet to agree on consequential adjustments of salaries as a result of the new minimum wage.
Some states like Lagos, Kaduna, Bauchi, Kastina and Borno had agreed to pay the new minimum wage while some have actually started implementation.
However, other states started negotiations few days to the end of the December 31 deadline set by organised labour.
Six months after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the new wage bill into law, the Federal Government and Organised Labour Agreed on consequential adjustments on October 18, 2019, after a prolonged negotiation.
The Federal Government and organised labour agreed on percentage increase of 23.2 for workers on level seven and 20 per cent for workers on level eight, while it agreed on 19 per cent increase for workers on level nine.
Also, both the Federal Government and organised labour reached an agreement on 16 per cent salary increase for workers on levels 10 to 14 and 14 per cent increase for workers on levels 15 to 17.
Ozigi said the NLC was also expected to call a meeting of its state chairmen to decide the next line of action.
He said: “We are having our NEC meeting next week Thursday. All the state councils are expected to bring in their reports.
“All of them are coming to Lagos for us to see what has happened in all the states and then formulate an appropriate action.
“After 9th (Thursday), a decision would have been taken that will be announced to the whole world by TUC.
“All the organs—the National Administrative Council (NAC), the Central Working Committee and the National Executive Council—will meet between 8th and 9th to review the situation and take a decision on implementation.”
