NLC Threatens Month-Long Economic Shutdown Over Proposed Minimum Wage Decentralization

 The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has announced its intention to shut down the economy for one month if the National Assembly moves to decentralize the minimum wage.

NLC President Joe Ajaero made this statement during the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) annual general meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, July 16.

Ajaero emphasized that the labor union would strongly oppose any attempts to shift the minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list.

"Currently, a joint committee of the Senate, House of Representatives, and the judiciary is meeting to discuss this issue. They are considering moving section 34 from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list, allowing state governors to set their own minimum wages. This would effectively eliminate the national minimum wage," Ajaero said.

He warned, "If the House of Representatives and the Senate pass such a law, the NLC will respond by shutting down the economy for one month. We cannot accept a situation where governors and national assembly members impose a substandard wage on workers, forcing poverty on citizens. Organized labor will not stand for it."

Ajaero further argued that allowing individual states to set their own wages would lead to inequality and injustice. "The constitution provides for equal work for equal pay. If we analyze jobs, we might find that a clerk in one state is doing the same work as a clerk in another state. Paying different wages for the same work goes against the principles of equity and equality before the law," he said.

He also pointed out that while every country has a national minimum wage, some states already pay higher wages than the basic minimum. "We have informed our members that if the proposed law passes, we will not tolerate the additional hardship it will impose on workers and citizens. No governor receives a different salary based on their state's revenue; they all receive the same. Using state revenue as a basis for setting minimum wages is a flawed argument," Ajaero concluded.

The National Assembly is currently in the process of amending the 1999 constitution and has received several proposals, including one to move the minimum wage from the exclusive list to the concurrent list.