N50,000 minumum wage: FG inaugurates negotiating team

The Federal Government, yesterday inaugurated a 12-man Negotiating Team (Government and Trade Union Side) to discuss the demand of federal civil servants for N50,000 minimum wage.n The team which has two weeks to work was inaugurated by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Nwogu with assurance from President Goodluck Jonathan that workers’ welfare remains top priority in his administration.

Labour suspended its planned strike billed for May 3 but the team’s inauguration was postponed from May 6 to yesterday following President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s death, the previous day.
The Head of Service of the Federation, Stephen Oronsaye stated that the specific terms of reference was to resolve the issue of wage increase, though the negotiation was not limited to it.

“Negotiations must also dwell on the issue of productivity. Ordinarily, wage increase should be concomitant to improved level of productivity, but this has not always been the case. In fact, many employees of the Federal Government have often carried on as though they owed no obligation to their employers. Without prejudice to the decisions to be reached at the end of the negotiation, it is expected that the report will include a workable plan on how best to deal with the challenge for the ultimate good of the service and indeed our country.”

In his response, the Chairman of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), Comrade Olakunle Olaitan, stressed that low wages and productivity were like siamese twins but regretted that in the case of the core civil service in Nigeria, it was not so because it was saddled with payment of emolument that were comparable to peanuts. Olaitan added that, expecting a robust productivity from such, might be a pipe dream.

While thanking President Jonathan for giving the order to return to negotiating table, Olaitan said, only political will, would compliment attempts to address the issue in practice terms to ensure the civil service departs from the days of storm to hope.

“We promise to cooperate with government to resolve the issue within the approved time-frame.”
Other members of the negotiating team include from the government side, the Permanent Secretaries Ministry of Education, Labour and Productivity, Finance, and Establishment and Records of the Office of the Head of Civil of Service Federation, Director General Budget Office and Chairman National Salary and Wages Commission.
Others from the Labour team include Peter Balogun who will act as secretary, Sylvester Ejiofoh, Solomon Onaghinon and Kiri Mohammed.