S-East can't afford workers' pay rise — Govs
Written by Tony Edike
Monday, 16 February 2009


ENUGU—GOVERNORS of the South East rose from an emergency meeting in Enugu yesterday with a resolution rejecting the proposed salary increase for civil servants, saying states in the zone cannot afford any wage increase in the face of the current economic meltdown.
They also endorsed the Federal Government’s decision to review downwards the remuneration of political office holders on account of the economic situation.

Last December, organised labour demanded a comprehensive wage review including a new national minimum wage of N52,200 per month. To this end, the labour body called on the Federal Government to set up “as a matter of urgency a tripartite committee to negotiate and agree on this”.

However, last month, the Federal Government and the representatives of the Nigerian Labour Congress began talks in Abuja on the proposal by the union for N52,000 as the minimum wage for the country.
Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum and Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, who read the three-paragraph communiqué at the end of the meeting that lasted for about four hours, said states in the zone were already facing the realities of the economic crisis and as such were not in a position to bear additional wage bill for their workers.

“The governments of the States in the Zone cannot afford any increase in salaries of workers for now, considering the current economic situation. The Governors pledged to strive to ensure that there will be no retrenchments and also to maintain existing salary structure for civil and public servants,” the communiqué read.

Obi said that states in the zone recorded a shortfall of over 30 per cent in their statutory allocations for the month of January, pointing out that Anambra and Enugu particularly recorded a shortfall of N700 million and N800 million respectively, a situation he said, has given a clear indication of the dangers ahead.

Asked how the state governments intend to cope with industrial actions that might erupt as a result of the decision, Obi said the “workers are human beings and they are aware of the current global financial crisis,” adding that they were expected to show understanding of the present situation.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in the South East has already threatened to direct teachers in the zone to proceed on industrial action over the non-implementation of the Teachers Salary Scale (TSS) and with the governors’ decision rejecting the proposed nationwide wage increase; states in the zone may witness a major industrial crisis.

NLC spokesman, Owei Lakemfa had hinted that the position of labour on the matter would be flexible, saying “we are making a demand, but we are open to negotiation.

Our belief is that if political office holders can enjoy so much wages and perks, there is no reason why a worker should not deserve an appreciable wage that can motivate further productivity for the nation‘s economy.”

On the proposed downward review of the public office holders’ remuneration, the governors said the decision was in the right direction and gave their full endorsement with a decision to implement it in their various states.

The forum also appealed to the Federal Government to urgently address the issue of ports congestion “because of its adverse effect on businesses and the economy.”

It also appealed to Ports operators and the other relevant authorities to reduce demurrage charges and harmonize the other charges payable at the ports and provide further incentives to ensure that all ports, especially Port Harcourt and Calabar Ports were put into full use as a way of resolving the perennial problems of congestion in the ports.


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