- Calls for transparency in the negotiation process
By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
A Former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has advocated for a decentralised approach to minimum wage negotiations, suggesting that state governments should determine the wage they can afford to pay.
The New Diplomat reports that the ongoing negotiations between the Federal Government and the Organized Labour over a New Minimum Wage (NWM) have been contentious, with unions demanding N250,000 and the government offering N62,000.
Amidst this standoff, Fayemi, on an appearance with Channels Television on Friday, argued that a one-size-fits-all approach is impractical given the diverse economic circumstances of different states.
Fayemi said :“Every governor has to deal with the issue of national minimum wage. When I was governor and chairman of the governor’s forum, and I believe even till this recent negotiation, is that we should decentralise minimum wage negotiations and allow states to have their own negotiations with their own labour unions whilst the Federal Government conducts its own negotiations because the fingers are not equal,”
He emphasized the need for transparency in the negotiation process, urging states to collaborate with their labour unions to establish realistic wages based on their financial capabilities.
“This should be decentralised and each state should define in conjunction with their labour unions, with transparency with all the records provided to the labour unions and say, ‘Look, this is what we have, but you are also only five or 10% of our population. We also have another 90% of the population that we must attend to,” he added.
However, he dismissed concerns that decentralising the minimum wage would lead to lower wages for state workers compared to federal employees. He described the current debate as being driven by dogma, asserting that decentralised negotiations could still result in competitive wages.
The former minister said:“What we’re dealing with now is dogma. Labour does not want to hear anything about decentralised national minimum wage and decentralised national minimum wage does not mean that what is paid at the level of the state will be lower than the federal,”
“In the ’60s and the ’50s, civil servants in the western regions used to earn more than federal civil servants.” he further added
Fayemi’s comments add a new dimension to the ongoing debate over Nigeria’s minimum wage, highlighting the need for a flexible approach that considers the economic realities of each state.
