Govt, Labour reach truce on new wage

[TGD]

 Rescued banks get guarantee extension

80% deposits now safe, says CBN

A SIGH of relief was heaved yesterday by the central workers' union and the Federal Government as the latter has accepted to begin the implementation of the new minimum wage across board with effect from this month.

Meanwhile, four rescued banks that have begun their recapitalisation processes ahead of the September 30, 2011 deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are to enjoy the benefit of an extended inter-bank guarantee by the apex regulatory body till December 31 this year.

This is the outcome of the Bankers' Committee meeting in Abuja yesterday. The implication is that the affected banks would continue to borrow money at the CBN lending rate with just a marginal cost from other banks with ease because of the apex bank's guarantee in case of a default.

Reading a communique at the end of the resumed talks between Labour and government in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, assured that the Federal Government would comply with the National Minimum Wage Act as signed by President Goodluck Jonathan.

He also restated the Government's commitment to apply the relativity adjustment to all federal workers across board.

His words: "Federal Government has agreed to comply with the national minimum wage Act of 2011. Federal Government in line with the earlier agreement has concluded the discussion with the two labour centres, NLC and the TUC on the issue of the minimum wage. The detailed negotiation on relativity adjustment with respect to the implementation of the minimum wage has been sorted out and agreed upon. Modalities will be worked out and this modalities that will be worked out will be worked out by the joint committee and will be tabled before the national executive councils of NLC and TUC. It is equally agreed that the implementation of the payment of what has been concluded upon today would begin August 2011. Equally, the spirit of this negotiation that whatever role anybody plays especially from the TUC and NLC, nobody will be victimized by government and this is the conclusion. I think when they finish from their NAC meeting they will communicate government on the outcome of such meeting."

On his part, Peter Esele, President-General of Trade Union Congress (TUC), who spoke with journalists after the parley, said the agreement would further be subjected to intense debate at both the NLC and TUC National Executive Council.

Esele assured that the issue of relativity was addressed and agreed upon by both parties, noting that Federal Government has agreed to implement the new wage increase across board.

He said: "We are going to put what federal government has on the table first. That is why we are taking it back to our principals so that there would be discussion around it and we can arrive at a decision. Each sector will negotiate with various organs of the union. Now we have to go back to the organ of the Trade Union if we are not satisfied or have any ill-feelings about it, we can just come here and say, they are not accepting it. There is a window around it that we want to take back to our principals if they accept the widow's mite."

Esele however declined to disclose the details of the pact, saying "no I can't tell you that until after our meeting."

In his remarks, Abdulwahed Omar, the NLC's President, said: "Basically, the discussion on relativity would have been concluded by 31st of July but unfortunately, it's segmented because of one or two areas of non-agreement. Majorly in the area of adjustment across the board, as a result of compliance with the new minimum wage Act, this adjustment now cut across the board in order to maintain some reasonable relativity. But unfortunately we saw immediately thereafter that everything was to start with grade levels 01 to 06, I am happy that we have been able to sort this today and also the issue of adjustment cutting across board will be sorted out by the joint technical committee. Hopefully from this moment, all these are the major areas of contention that delayed the whole agreement up till now. Because of this development, we have gotten the respective labour centres will now make formal presentations to their respective organs in a meeting between today and tomorrow. Whatever agreement we are able to reach, we would communicate to government for the implementation of the new minimum wage."

A deputy president of NLC, Promise Adewusi, told The Guardian that the implementation would include non-civil service workers that may even include the police and armed forces.

Addressing a press conference at the end of the meeting, the new Director of Banking Supervision of the CBN, Joe Adewale, listed the affected ones to include Oceanic Bank, Intercontinental Bank, Finbank and Union Bank.

He explained that the affected banks have had their guarantees extended because they have exhibited elements of seriousness by signing Transition Implementation Agreements (TIAs) with serious core investors aimed at recapitalising their financial institutions.

Adewale who briefed the press in company of the Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of Oceanic Bank, Mr. John Aboh; Union Bank, Mrs. Funke Osibodu and FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun, said: "There is no cause for alarm by depositors over the recapitalisation exercise for banks. The programme is on course. In fact, one of the intervened banks has crossed the major threshold again and that brings the number to four of intervened banks that have signed (TIAs). Two weeks ago, Union; Finbank and Intercontinental Banks signed TIAs with core investors and the CBN has moved their inter-bank guarantees to December 31, 2011.

"With the Oceanic Bank TIA development, about 80 per cent of deposits of the banking sector is now resolved. We hope that by the September 30, 2011 deadline, all banks in the country would have been resolved one way or the other," the director assured.

Meanwhile, the banks yesterday also declared that they have begun building capacity of their members of staff for specialisation in the financing of infrastructure, particularly power, transport and agriculture to partner the Federal Government in raising the activities in the sector.

Already, according to them, 150 of senior and middle level-workers have so far been trained with an additional 100 on the line.



The Guardian

[emezico]

This is a good development for Nigeria.