NUT opposes deregulation of minimum wage

 by Adelani Adepegba 

The Nigeria Union of Teachers, has kicked against the decision of the National Assembly to move the minimum wage from the Exclusive legislative list to the Concurrent List of the Constitution, without doing the same to the salaries of political office-holders, describing it as double standards.
By not placing the salaries of political office-holders on the Concurrent List, the NUT said the National Assembly Committee on Constitutional Amendment, had only served the interest of the political class and ignored the interest of the common man and the working class.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja and signed by the NUT President, Michael Olukoya and Secretary-General, Obong Obong respectively, the union described the position of the  committee on the minimum wage as “another calculated attempt to cause avoidable industrial crisis in the nation’s polity.”
The union, said it resented the planned autonomy for Local Government Councils, which it said did not consider the funding and management of primary education in the country, considering the lean financial ability of the councils.
It said, “We  wish to express in strong terms the resentment of Nigeria teachers on the position of the National Assembly Committee on Constitutional Amendment, granting autonomy to Local Government without factoring the position of the NUT on which arm of government is responsible for funding and management of primary Education in Nigeria, considering that the financial allocation to each Local Government as it stands today can not sufficiently fund primary education and other demands of such councils.
“Much as the NUT is not opposed to the autonomy of Local Governments, the resolve of the Nigeria Teachers not to once again have the payment of their salaries and management of primary education left in the hands of the authorities of Local Government Councils remain unchanged and will be strongly resisted.”
The teachers, argued that salaries of political office-holders as fixed by the National Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, did not factor the financial strength of the particular State of political office-holders, noting that it is hypocritical to remove the wage of public servants from the exclusive legislative list