Minimum Wage Act: Labour storms NASS today •Wants Reps’ intervention in ASUU/FG crisis

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria will today storm the National Assembly to protest the Senate removal of the National Minimum Wage from the Constitution.
President of NLC, Comrade Abduwahed Omar, declared on Tuesday, when the leadership of the NLC and TUC led the organised labour on a courtesy visit to the House of Representatives.
He made the declaration as he also called on the leadership of the House to quickly interven in the face-off between the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government, being the only trusted arm of government that can resolve the crisis.
Comrade Omar, who jointly led the workers with the TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, said they will stage a protest at the National Assembly today against the Senate’s unpopular move.
During the recent Constitution amendment exercise, the Senate had removed the minimum wage law from the Exclusive Legislative list to the Concurrent list, but the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted for the retention of the minimum wage in the Exclusive Legislative list.
The proposal is presently awaiting harmonisation of both the lower and the upper house, but during a courtesy call on the leadership of the House of Representatives, Omar warned warned them to be conscious of the anti-people move of the Senate during the harmonisation.
According to the NLC President, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar, the protest would take off from the Labour House and terminate at the Senate where they will deliver a protest letter to the Senate President, David Mark.
The NLC president said the decision of the Senate undermines the popular wishes of the Nigerian workers and people, describing it as very unfortunate.
But he  commended the sincerity of the House of Representatives for listening to the voice of the people and for being behind the masses of Nigeria.
“The House of Representatives had displayed high sense of responsibility in throwing away the satanic proposal, they will need to remain  firm to resist any overture that would make them succumb to the whims and caprices of a few individual driven by self motives,” he said.
He, however, told them to be very alert and warned the House to be wary of some people who would want to exploit the avenue of the joint harmonization session of both Houses to push through what they could not achieve in the House.
Omar said: “We are very happy to note that the House did not even consider the removal of the minimum wage law from the Exclusive Legislative list to the Concurrent Legislative list because of your belief that the Nigerian workers deserve a very proper place. As our logo depicts, it is the Nigerian workers that turn the wheels that generate the wealth of the nation and therefore it would be a disservice to undermine the workers and relegate them to the background.
“However, there is still much to be done because, if we understand the working of the National Assembly, it will still have to move to the concurrent before being passed to the State Houses of Assembly. That is a very major concern. The Nigerians workers have great fear, that the hands that have been working behind the scene to influence some people elsewhere can still highjack the process.
“Perhaps some people may still want to achieve what they could not hitherto achieve, at the joint harmonization level. That is why Nigerian workers are very concern and we say we need to come on solidarity to you to keep faith with the promise you have made to Nigerians.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon.  Aminu Tambuwa, said that the House decided not to tamper with the Minimum Wage Act in line with the promise it made to the Nigerian people to always be committed to their cause.
He noted that it was not them but the Nigerian people that rejected the removal, and added that all the House did was to uphold the popular wishes of the people.
“We have come under severe pressure to come to where we have got today. All we did was to work on the agenda of the interest of Nigerians. It was the public that rejected the transfer. We only came here and upheld it,” he said.
On the demand of the workers for the House of Representatives to intervene in the lingering face-off between ASUU and the Federal Government to end the ongoing strike, Tambuwal explained that the House would table it for discussion today.
He added that a motion regarding that had already been moved by one of the House members.
TRIBUNE