Ondo Assembly Rejects Minimum Wage Bill |The Source

By Ayodele Oni

Ondo state House of Assembly on Wednesday made its stand known on the proposed bill seeking removal of minimum wage from exclusive legislative list by the National Assembly.

The Assembly’s position is coming just as organized labour in the state explained that the proposed bill would lead to enslavement of the entire workforce.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun, told protesting members of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) that the Assembly would reject a bill seeking the removal of minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list of the nation’s constitution.

The Speaker, while receiving a protest letter from the Labour leaders to kick against the bill being sponsored by a lawmaker at the National Assembly pointed out that the proposed bill is anti labour.

According to Mr Oleyelogun, the wage bill if passed, would further impoverish Nigerians workers, pledging that Ondo State lawmakers would ensure that minimum wage is not put in the concurrent list.

The State Chairman of NLC, Sunday Adeleye-Oluwole and his TUC counterpart, Helen Odofin stated that moving minimum wage to concurrent list would lead to enslavery of Nigerian workers especially state and local government workers.

The Labour leaders pleaded with the state lawmakers to reject the bill if transmitted to ondo state.