Fred Itua, Abuja
Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law, a new Minimum Wage. For state and federal civil servants, it was a sigh of great relief. For supporters of President Buhari, it was a promise kept. At least, pundits who had wrongly imagined that it was a campaign gimmick for the president are too dazed to openly admit that he meant well.
Beyond the new law and the euphoria that accompanied it, Nigerians are unaware of the politics and gambling that followed the consideration and passage of the bill into law by both chambers of the National Assembly.
In the last week of January, President Buhari formally transmitted the National Minimum Wage bill to the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.
Barely few minutes after the letter was read, the Senate immediately revealed plans to capture the informal sector, specifically those who earn monthly salaries as part of those to benefit from the new law.
The Senate also gave an accelerated hearing to the Bill. In a rare move, the Red Chamber suspended Order 75 of the Senate Standing Rules, to enable lawmakers give an accelerated hearing to the bill.
Buhari, in the letter, stated that “the purpose of this letter is to forward to you for legislative action, a new Minimum Wage bill, to further amend the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2011, in order to give a new National Minimum Wage of Twenty Seven Thousand Naira (27,000) per month to the lowest paid Nigerian worker from the current Eighteen Thousand Naira (N18, 000) per month.
“This new bill and the amendments contained therein were arrived at after consultations by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage which was constituted by me in November, 2017, to consider, make recommendations, and advise the government on this. The Tripartite Committee comprised representatives of the Federal Government, Governors’ Forum, Organised Private Sector, and the Organised Federations of Trade Unions in Nigeria.
“The Federal Executive Council, National Economic Council, and the National Council of States have all noted and approved these recommended amendments.
“Other highlights of the amendments include exemptions for establishments employing less than twenty five (25) persons; five (5) years review period of the Act in consonance with the Constitutional review period of Pensions; Alterations in the amount of fines payable by defaulters on prosecution,” the president added.
He further said that “bearing in mind that the issue of prescribing a National Minimum Wage for the Federation or any part thereof is within the Executive Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and listed as item No. 34 of Part 1 of the Second Schedule, it is my pleasure to forward this bill for expeditious action.”
While giving terms of reference to an ad hoc committee constituted to handle the bill, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who stood in for the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, offered some explanations.
He noted that it was the first time the Senate would suspend its standing rules to read an executive communication, with a view to giving the content accelerated passage, adding that “we will constitute an ad hoc committee to work with the relevant stakeholders to come up with something we can all accept. “
Ekweremadu further said “the proposed wage the government said it will pay was N30, 000 for the federal workers and N27, 000 for state workers. What we have here is N27, 000 flat rate. The second issue is that, there was no inclusion of people who work in places where we have less than 25 workers. It means domestic workers will not be captured. This issue should be addressed during the public hearing.
“There is an argument about the ability of state governments to pay. If they reduce their wage bill and other costs, they will be able to pay. I suggest that they look inward and collect more taxes. I am not advocating that they should increase taxes, but they should increase the drive to collect more taxes.”
The bill was read for the first and second time on the same day the president’s letter was read, before it was referred to an ad hoc committee.
With the campaigns and the subsequent elections that followed, the final passage of the bill was deferred. As soon as the Senate reconvened, it considered and passed it without delay.
In the new law, it pegged the salary for the lowest category of workers in Nigeria at N30, 000. It, however, ignored calls for a review of the Revenue Sharing Formula which many state governments had canvassed to give them more financial powers they need to implement the new minimum wage.
The Senate, while approving the report, rejected the proposal by President Muhammadu Buhari that a fine of N5, 000 be imposed on any employer who fails to keep records of workers. Instead, it imposed a fine of N75, 000 on such defaulters.
It asked the ministry of Finance to immediately compute how much would be required to be added to the Federal Government’s 2019 budget as a result of the approval of the new minimum wage law.
The Minimum Wage bill is one of the fastest ever passed by the Senate. Pundits say, if it had been sent before serious campaigns kicked off it perhaps may also have been passed within the same time frame.
But there are arguments that the Senate and the House of Representatives played major roles in ensuring not only the accelerated passage of the bill, but also in ensuring that it was not mired in unnecessary controversy. Pundits, who are promoting this line of argument, believe that if the National Assembly had not gambled by raising the wage to N30, 000 from the N27, 000 proposed by the government, Labour would have protested.
An expert on legislative matters, Mr. Agbo Charles, told Daily Sun that the passage and signing into law of the bill, is a clear example that the executive and the legislature can work together if the interests of Nigerians are considered first.
Charles said: “I understand the legislature very well and I know how they operate. I am surprised the bill was passed by the National Assembly despite the fact that they just came back from a crucial election. Many of them lost and one had expected that they would not pass it as a way of protesting.
“But we saw a bipartisan arrangement. This is the kind of thing we should encourage. It shows that the leadership, particularly Saraki, could have worked well with the executive if the presidency had allowed him.
“For me, this is one of the high points of this National Assembly. Over 20 million Nigerians will benefit from this, from the private and public sectors. The 9th National Assembly has a lot to learn from this outgoing Parliament.”
Speaking in the same vein, a National Executive Council (NEC) member of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Kwara State, Comrade Issa Aremu, also hailed the Senate for the passage of the bill into law.
Aremu observed that the passed law is the most singular bill that touches on the working people by the outgoing 8th National Assembly. He commended the leadership of the Senate and the entire senators for identifying with the struggle of organised labour and progressive Nigerians for a new minimum wage of N30, 000.00 for Nigerian workers.
The former LP governorship candidate also commended President Buhari for giving it a quick accent and urged the governors-elect and employers of labour in the private sector to ensure implementation so as to alleviate the working poverty of Nigerian workers.
Aremu also said the new minimum wage must be extended to security agencies namely the Police, Department of State Services, Military and paramilitary alike, adding that security workers are working people even though they are not unionised.
According to the labour leader, economic recovery would elude Nigerian economy until the country put an end to what he called “persistent crisis of compensation of the working class through enhanced purchasing power which is only possible through prompt and adequate payment of minimum and living wage for the employed workforce”.
He said the key to sustainable development is labour productivity in both public and private sectors which is only possible with motivated paid workers at work and after work through adequate pensions.