Agreement with labour groups to cost Fed Govt N2tr

The Federal Government would spend a minimum of N2 trillion on the implementation of the agreement reached with organised labour on Monday.

An agreement to ease the pain of the elimination of the petrol subsidy on federal employees and other categories of Nigerians was achieved after a four-hour discussion.

The following are key points of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that government and labour have signed:

•Payment of a pay award of N35,000 per month for six months to federal employees;

•Assigning N100 billion to purchase high-capacity buses that run on compressed natural gas (CNG);

•55,000 CNG stations and conversion kits around the country;

•A grant of N75,000 to 15 million households, payable over three months in installments of N25,000.

To actually implement the N75,000 grant to 15 million households for three months, the government will need N1.125 trillion. Some of the poorest Nigerians and pensioners would benefit from an increase in living standards thanks to the money.

The government would spend N315 billion over the course of six months on the N35,000 monthly salary award for almost 1.5 million federal employees.

In addition, N100 billion will be spent on high-capacity CNG buses for usage by commuters.

A assessment of the budget for the installation of 84 CNG stations nationally and the purchase of 55,000 CNG conversion kits reveals that around N400 billion would be spent.

According to estimates, the government would build two CNG stations for each state and the FCT, as well as an additional ten stations dispersed around important economic hubs.

Experts, social activists, and other interested parties applauded the deal and strike suspension yesterday, pointing out that the commitments to concrete palliatives will directly stimulate the economy.

They both agreed that the strike’s suspension would prevent the economy from suffering severe losses. According to estimates, the strike was costing the economy at least N50 billion every day.

The House of Representatives declared that it was in the national interest to suspend the strike.

The economy would have received a severe jolt if organised labour had gone on strike, according to Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who also noted that the government and Labour’s conversation produced fruitful results.

He also applauded the Federal Government for allocating N100 billion to the purchase of CNG kits and buses to help with the conversion.

Kalu expressed trust in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s capacity to mobilise the productive sector and propel the process of economic recovery.

He said that the third quarter micro-economic data revealed an increase in oil production from 1.2 million to 1.45 million barrels per day.

Although there had been improvement, he claimed that more work remained to be done in order to maximise oil production.

The nation was able to prevent needless disruption, according to the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).

Its Director-General, Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, emphasised the importance of the government carrying out the resolution’s requirements and urged organised labour to do the same to ensure increased productivity and turn the production wheel.

“Employers will continue to insist on, and advocate for, a peaceful industrial environment as a pillar for economic and national renaissance,” Oyerinde stated.

The NECA DG continued by saying that the strike’s impacts on the private sector were unthinkable.

He pointed out how difficult it was for businesses in the private sector to survive.

“I think it should be taken into account anything that may jeopardise our capacity to keep paying salaries.

“Consider a business that has borrowed money from banks in dollars or naira; if we go on strike, the payment of interest or the government’s tax is not stopped.

“Workers will also anticipate receiving pay throughout this time. We don’t want to strike because it would further harm businesses.

It will also exacerbate the issues facing firms and the employees in terms of job security and remuneration, according to Oyerinde.

For 89,100 government employees, there was no N35,000 salary award.

89,100 federal employees may not receive the N35,000 pay award that the Bola Tinubu administration has recommended because they were not included in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

According to The Nation’s investigations, the government takes IPPIS compliance very seriously in its effort to get rid of “ghost” employees from the payroll.

According to a source in the White House, “the 89,100 federal workers are not captured under IPPIS, they cannot enjoy the largesse that will last for six months.”

He claimed that because the government is aware that 780,000 workers have been recorded on the IPPIS platform, it will refrain from funding what he called “bad behaviour.”

The source additionally informed The Nation that the Presidency has a letter from the pay and Wages Commission requesting a meeting to discuss how to implement employee pay in the fiscal year 2024.

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He said that the reason the response to the letter was taking so long was because important decision-makers like Wale Edun, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, needed to participate in the talks.

But he added that the talks would take place before the year is over in order to take the results into account for the 2024 Appropriations Bill.

To lessen the effects of the elimination of the petrol subsidy, President Tinubu announced the provisional wage raise for all government employees on Sunday.

NLC will advocate for a N200,000 minimum wage.

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, warned Wednesday that the rising cost of living would force labour to advocate for a N100,000 or N200,000 minimum salary for its members.

Following a meeting with government representatives at the State House in Abuja, the labour centres, the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), decided not to go ahead with their planned strike on Monday night.

The N35,000 wage award, which is a part of the government’s offerings, is not a new minimum wage, which Ajaero claimed might go as high as N200,000, he added. Instead, the move, according to Ajaero, was made to give the government time to fulfil its side of the deal struck with Labour.

Therefore, it is a wage that is added to the minimum wage rather than a minimum wage itself. Therefore, should we negotiate a new wage of N100,000 or N200,000 in March, April, or earlier, it would be noted as a minimum wage law, which should be the law in force, the NLC president remarked yesterday on national television.

Ajaero insisted that the N35,000 wage award was not an increase over the N30,000 minimum wage in the nation and that many different criteria will be taken into account while determining the new minimum wage.

When we talk about it, certain factors like inflation and the cost of living would come into play, he said. Everything else would factor in.

“We wouldn’t go and demand N65,000. Since N65, 000 is roughly $70, which is less than the minimum wage, we would opt for a more reasonable figure.

According to him, the National Assembly would be essential to the implementation of a new minimum wage.

“The minimum wage is a legal requirement. It is not a minimum wage until it is enacted by the National Assembly, according to Ajaero.