The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has opposed any attempts by the National Assembly to transfer labour matters, including the national minimum wage, from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, issued the warning on Friday during the National Administrative Council (NAC) meeting of the Central Working Committee held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Ajaero said that this move would allow individual states to determine their workers’ wages, a scenario he described as an exercise in futility.
According to Ajaero, “The minimum wage is a national matter globally, aligning with International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions that recognize countries as single entities, not sub-national units”.
Ajaero alleged lawmakers planned to “bastardise” the national minimum wage structure and shift labour-related responsibilities to states.
The Labour leader said, “The National Assembly should not go into this exercise in futility unless members will also allow their respective states to determine their wages.
“If they attempt to smuggle labour matters into the concurrent list, we will mobilise workers to protest against it, even up to election day,” he said.
Establishing state industrial courts to handle wage disputes would violate ILO principles.
Allowing states to set minimum wages independently would jeopardize worker welfare, especially in less financially viable states.
”The NLC will mobilize workers to protest against any attempts to smuggle labour matters into the concurrent list, even on election day, ” he said.
Ajaero emphasised the importance of upholding justice and protecting citizens’ interests, citing the existing N70,000 minimum wage legislation.
Speaking later with journalists, the NLC President reaffirmed that organised labour would firmly oppose any effort to undermine the minimum wage, calling on lawmakers to uphold justice and protect the interests of the citizens they represent.
“All over the world, there is a minimum wage for the protection of workers. In Nigeria, there is legislation for a minimum wage of N70,000.
The law permits states to pay more than that, and in fact, many states currently pay above the minimum wage,” he said.
Ajaero insisted that states must not be allowed to determine minimum wages independently, warning that such a move would endanger the welfare of average workers across the federation.
Ajaero stressed the need for the Supreme Court to clarify its ruling on local government autonomy to ensure full compliance with constitutional provisions.
