What happens to private employers who refuse to pay N18,000?

Sunday, 08 May 2011 02:39 Francis Okeke

Naomi, who holds a National Certificate in Education (NCE), is not alone in the despair and frustration that have gripped many employees who work in the private sector whenever the issue of the minimum wage is discussed amongst colleagues, friends and family.

Miss Naomi, who is from Kaduna State, has worked in one of the topflight missionary schools owned by a popular Pentecostal church in the country and she said most schools in Abuja charge astronomical rates for their services but pay teachers “peanuts” using threats and intimidation to whip them into line.

In her words, “In my school which is a missionary primary school, they say they are doing missionary work so they don’t charge much. They charge beginners N70,000 and subsequently N45,000 to N50,000 every term. They have over 1,000 students and about 70 teachers but what they pay a fresh graduate is about N50,000 and I think the Federal Government schools pay better than that.”

She is amongst thousands of Nigerians who don’t know what will be their fate once the implementation of the new minimum wage which was secretly signed by President Jonathan begins.

Salary increase not the only issue

However, she cautioned that increasing workers salary as shown by experience is not the end to workers financial woes, particularly calling on the president to constitute a committee that will check the prices of essential commodities that normally skyrocket whenever such increases take place.

She said, “It is not him signing the minimum wage that is the matter. He should also regulate the market by setting up a committee to ensure that prices of food items like rice, beans, eggs, yam do not rise above whatever it is that he has signed.

“If there is no committee, the increment will just pass through the hands of workers to those of market women or businessmen thereby defeating the original aim of increasing the money,” she observed.

Job security more important

Clement Itodo, a father of three who works in one of the leading construction companies in the country said that job security is more important to him than the new wage.

“Whether they increase the money or not, the most important thing is for me to go to work and put food on the table for my wife and my children. I have been working for this company for more than three years now and I am currently saving to buy a car which I will use as a taxi and from there better the living of my family.

“The amount is not the issue because if I tell you the number of my friends that have lost their jobs and the condition they are in today, you will agree with me that it is important to have the job as long as it takes care of your basic necessities and you must not forget to save and plan for the future. Lack of planning is the problem with most people,” he noted.

Muffling of employees

Some state governments have promised to pay the new wage with some complaining of inadequate funds to pay. There are allegations that some private employers who are duty bound to pay the wage having employed 50 workers or above have started a campaign of muffling their employees.

Such employers, a source told Sunday Trust  have since started threatening to review the terms of employment of their workers as well as threatened to enforce strict disciplinary actions and also dust the files of prior offenders if need be.

A bank staff said he has been working for the bank for over two years but still remained a contract staff and that he is overworked and underpaid. “I have worked very hard but the company that recruited me has refused to increase my salary and the bank has refused to make me a permanent staff here. Maybe when the minimum wage becomes effective, I will just go to a polytechnic or even a secondary school to teach and have adequate rest and enough time for myself,” he said.

NLC says law must apply

Speaking on the application of the new minimum wage in the private sector, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Acting General Secretary allayed the fears of workers saying the new wage is a “law of the land” and any employers that dare to contravene it do so at their own peril.

While encouraging workers in all private organisations with 50 or more employees to expose “crooks who want to disobey the laws of the land,” he said NLC needs not set up any monitoring committee because the constitution is very clear on the matter and no employer dares to default.

Why the fuss about N18,000?

But it is not stories of doom in all work places. Some firms in Abuja have been paying above the new minimum wage for years now and workers in such places say they “don’t know why people make so much noise about N18,000.”

A worker who begged to remain anonymous said she is not impressed by all the “noise” that has been generated by the new minimum wage. When told that there may not be up to 50 workers in her work place, she countered by saying her employer has branches in Lagos, Port-Harcourt and Calabar.

“We are close to a hundred if not more. I must add that I know more than 15 colleagues who have MBAs and many have masters while first degree and HND holders abound. I think the least they should have done is to make minimum wage N150,000 after all politicians receive millions monthly for doing nothing.

“My salary is currently above N100,000 and I complain daily that I am underpaid. I am not sure that the new wage will have any impact on me financially by the end of the month,” she said.

Stakes poised to push for compliance

However, there is good news for those in the private sector as all the stakeholders involved in the negotiations that led to the emergence of the new wage agreed that it must be strictly adhered to. National Employers Consultative Assembly (NECA) which is the umbrella body of private sector employers and one of the stakeholders, said the Ministry of Labour is empowered by law to ensure compliance.

On its part, the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) said it would not only expose those who refuse to implement the new wage to the appropriate authorities but would also picket the premises of such defaulters.

President of the NUT, Comrade Michael Alogba said, “Any employer of labour who refuses to implement the N18,000 minimum wage stands the risk of their place of work being picketed” alongside the legal action that would be instituted against them.

Bureaucracy stalls implementation

Giving the assurance of compliance by all affected, Minister of Labour and Productivity Chief Emeka Wogu had informed journalists and Nigerians in different fora that implementation covers all and will start immediately the guidelines are released. The guidelines, according to him are currently being fine-tuned by the bureaucracy in the ministry.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites