Sen. Yusuf urges labour leaders to steer clear of partisan politics
Compromise
By Cecilia Ijuo
Abuja, May 1, 2018(NAN) The Vice Chairman Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Sen. Yusuf Yusuf has called on labour leaders to steer clear of partisan politics and focused on welfare of workers.
Yusuf made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
The lawmaker said until labour leaders steered clear of politics and focused on welfare of workers, the challenges facing workers would remain.
“I have been a comrade for so many years. I was ASUU Branch Secretary at the University of Maiduguri in those days.
“Nigerian workers have not fared well. We have to take our workers seriously in this country.
“Nigerian workers have not lived up to expectation and it is for so many reasons.
“The take home pay for workers can no longer take them out of their offices.
“Unfortunately, labour leaders are not taking the welfare of workers seriously and that is because some of them have been compromised.
“For instance governors are not paying workers salaries because the leadership of the labour force has been compromised.
“The National Assembly in its amendment to the Constitution recently voted in favour of local government autonomy but some National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) members are saying no to it.
“This is the politicisation I am talking about. We know that once local governments are independent the workers would be better compensated and their condition of service would be better, ” he said.
On required minimum wage for workers, the lawmaker said that the N18,000 minimum wage is far from meeting the required productivity expected of workers.
The lawmaker said that the Federal Government has established a committee and it is working to come up with a review of the current wage.
According to him, labour is requesting N66,500 which is fair. I think it should even be more because if you divide N 66,500 by N360 to a dollar it is just a little above a hundred dollar.
On increase in casual workers in the country, Yusuf expressed concern that the condition of service of some organisations was not favourable.
He called for policies that would ensure standardisation of conditions of service to prevent employers of labour from maltreating workers.
He assured that the National Assembly was poised to amending or enacting laws that would protect the rights of workers.(NAN)
CJM/AFA
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Edited by Felix Ajide