Barring any last minute negotiations with the Federal government that could sway its planned cause of action, majority of Nigerian workers will next week embark on an initial three-day warning strike in protest of government’s failure to implement the new National Minimum Wage Act. This development follows the directive of the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), which Tuesday in Abuja issued notice of a three day warning strike from Wednesday 20th to Friday 22nd of July, 2011 to its members across the country owing to the failure of governments across all levels and private sector employers to implement the new wage law three months after it was ratified and signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan. Rising from an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC), President of the NLC, Comrade Abdul-Waheed Omar disclosed that the current situation on the implementation of the new wage law leaves labour with no choice but to embark on a three-day warning strike; this he said will steer its next line of an indefinite strike on the lingering wage crisis. The total strike is expected to amongst other things crumble economic activities across the country if governments and private employers fail to comply with the new wage law. Omar told journalists that the movement has ‘painfully observed’ that it has been over three months since the new national minimum wage became law with no tier of government including the private sector employer looking towards its implementation. He said: “We had expected that the Federal Government would set a good example as a good employer to pay above the minimum base of N18,000. This will be in line with the Labour-Federal Government understanding in year 2000, that the Federal Government, Lagos, and oil producing states would pay higher than the minimum wage and this was the reason why the Federal Government, Lagos and oil producing states paid a minimum wage of N7, 500 which was higher than the legislated minimum wage of N5, 500. “Although many state governments have promised to pay, there is no negotiated payment table on which the minimum wage is based, state governors are allowing their colleagues to hold them to ransom on the implementation of the new national minimum wage and even the Federal Government has also fallen foul of the minimum wage law with its attempted decision to make the new national minimum wage implementation applicable only to workers on Grade Level 01 to 06 in the federal service; this is not acceptable to us.” Omar further stated that: “We observed that the National Minimum Wage has national applicability and affect all workers irrespective of sector or grade level, it is on this basis that both the payment table and the implementation circular presented by the Federal Government are rejected by the Congress.” According to the president, labour will go on with the warning strike as planned given the non-implementation of the minimum wage by governments across all levels as well as the private sector. He added that: “The labour movement is left with no alternative than to defend the minimum wage law in the interest of the working people and the fundamental human right of the Nigerian populace to live above poverty line. We also have the historical duty to hold government accountable to the people and to ensure that governments at all levels obey the laws of the land.” The general strike will be against the federal, state and local governments as well as the private sector, after which the NLC will go for an indefinite strike if government and other affected employers fail to commence the implementation as demanded by organised labour. Source: Thisdayonline.com