Wage: NLC plans mass protest

ABUJA – THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Monday evening, sent warning signals to members of the National Assembly over the recent removal of wages from the Exclusive legislative list to Concurrent list, saying that the organized labour would work against their interest as they choose to trample on the rights of Nigerian workers. In a communiqué issued at the end of its National Executive Council, NEC, in Abuja, which was signed by its National President, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar and the General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, NLC, condemned the recent report of stepping down of of labour, including wages from the Exclusive list to Concurrent List by the National Assembly. The NEC-in-Session mandated the leadership of the congress to meet with the leadership of the senate to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the claim that the Red Chamber was leading the crusade for the deregulation of wages in the country. It also mandated its leadership to meet the Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and the Principal Officers of the house for re-assurance that the house had not relinquished its pledge to retain wages on the Exclusive List. The communiqué further stated that in spite of denials by some officers of NASS that wages was still on the Exclusive List, its NEC had directed its members to commence immediate mobilization of members including visiting their representatives in the State Houses of Assembly and the Federal Lawmakers to demand their input in maintaining the status quo of Labour on the Exclusive List. It also advised that in the interest of industrial harmony, those enjoying underserved advantages should not do anything to further make life more difficult for Nigerian workers. It was however gathered that the Conference Committee of the National Assembly agreed to retain labour and indeed wages on the Exclusive List, but the highlights which was made available to journalists from the senate put wages on the Concurrent List. Reliable sources within the Conference Committee had told Vanguard that the error of putting wages on Concurrent List was made by the Consultant that handled the printing of the report. Meanwhile, there seems to be looming crisis between the NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, over the status of senior staff in the workforce. At the NEC meeting of NLC Monday, it was disclosed that TUC was working in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour to hold meeting by November which NLC said was going to be against her interest and the meeting being on the instance of TUC. Consequently, it advised members that would be attending the meeting to be extra careful so that its interest would be protected. The bone of contention it was gathered was the alleging scheming by the TUC to remove Senior Staff Association Nigerian Union as an affiliate of NLC to TUC.