Governor El-Rufai advocates for very low minimum wage
- Governor Nasir El-Rufai says the organised labour unions in the country have destroyed the nation more than they have contributed to it
- He describes the conduct of health unions as the most irresponsible
- Nigerian workers have been assured by Chris Ngige that the new minimum wage is certain
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has advocated for a very low minimum wage that would enable states to pay the salaries of their workers.
He made the suggestion on Thursday, March 8, in Abuja at a ‘Governance Matters’ roundtable organised by Development Alternative Incorporation (DAI), Vanguard reports.
El-Rufai also said that organised labour unions in the country have destroyed the nation more than they have contributed to it.
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He said: “Trade Unions have never served the country well. They have been selfish and everything is about their narrow interests. In general, in Nigeria, trade unions have been a danger to our progress and I think they should be curtailed.
“The mistake we made as a country was placing trade unions in the Exclusive Legislative List. If the Academic Staff Unions of Universities ASUU has an issue with the Federal Government, then the state universities will go on strike too. In Kaduna, I warned the Kaduna state University, that if ‘you ever go on strike gain because of somebody else, I will fire all of you’.
“The states were never part of such agreements. Secondly, is the issue of minimum wage. Except we set a very low minimum wage, there will continue be issues especially with states that do not have wide tax net. You cannot set the same minimum wage for Lagos and Jigawa. Also, we must apply the labour laws strictly. No work, no pay, because there has to be a trade dispute before anything strike. That is what the law says."
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The governor described the conduct of health unions as the most irresponsible, adding that only an irresponsible doctor will abandon his patients even after swearing to the Hippocratic Oath.
“I think Nigerian doctors are the only ones on the planet that go on strike,” El-Rufai said.
Meanwhile, the minister for labour and productivity, Chris Ngige, on Monday, March 5, assured Nigerian workers that implementation of a new minimum wage in the country would be done.
He said the committee set up for that purpose by the federal government had already started work.
Ngige gave the assurance while speaking with journalists shortly after witnessing the swearing in of newly-elected chairmen of the 18 local government councils in Edo at the Government House, Benin. Council elections were conducted in the state on Saturday, and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won all the positions.
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Source: Legit.ng
