The Governors of the 36 states of the Federation have rejected have said that the states will not be able to pay the contentious proposed N60,000 minimum wage being offered to the organised labour by the Federal Government.
The governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) through a statement signed on Friday by the Director Media and Public Affairs, Hajiya Halimah Salihu Ahmed stated that the proposed N60, 000 was unrealistic and will plunge the states into crisis.
Despite the fact that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had embarked on indefinite nationwide strike of the N60,000 proposal by the federal government, the governors vehemently rejected the central government’s proposal noting that it was not “sustainable and realistic.”
Part of the NGF statement reads:
“The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is in agreement that a new minimum wage is due. The Forum also sympathises with labour unions in their push for higher wages.
“However, the Forum urges all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners.
“The NGF cautions parties in this important discussion to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.
“All things considered, the NGF holds that the N60,000 minimum wage proposal is not sustainable and cannot fly. It will simply mean that many states will spend all their FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes.
“In fact, a few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month. We do not think this will be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.
“We appeal that all parties involved, especially the labour unions, consider all the socioeconomic variables and settle for an agreement that is sustainable, durable, and fair to all other segments of the society who have legitimate claim to public resources.”