Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomhole has described as criminal the inability or refusal of some employers of labour to pay the wages of their employers as at when due.
The former labour leader decried the challenges faced by workers all over the country, saying all governments must maintain a national minimum wage.
Oshiomhole said this on Wednesday during a forum tagged ‘The Podium’.
The programme, organized by The Kukah Centre in collaboration with the Ford Foundation, seeks an interface between the electorate and policy makers.
It was held in Abuja with the theme: “From Activism to Political Power: The Challenges of Democratic Governance in Nigeria”.
According to Oshiomhole, a labourer is worthy of his wages, meaning if an employer is owing, he is breaching a contract.
“’This is where I’m different. I still insist any government who wants to be taken seriously must have a national minimum wage. “We must maintain a national minimum wage, look for ways to increase it; that is what I still advocate for.” Giving an informal account of his stewardship and why he carried out most of his actions, the governor said he stayed true to his activism years by not owing salaries.
He added that as a former factory worker himself, he understood the importance of wages and that was why he increased workers salaries in Edo by 38 per cent.
“Activism is not synonymous with being progressive. I believe we should all be idealistic and not dismiss the possibility of an ideal society.
“One man’s idealism is another man’s reality. Wages paid to people is not burden.
“In Edo we increased it to 38 per cent and I’m proud to still pay before the last day of every month.” He explained that complaints about salaries from the state were mostly about the 18 months pension arrears he inherited and the inability of local governments to pay their staff.
“We respect the autonomy of the Local Government but we insisted that if they cannot do environmental sanitation, waste management, grading rural roads, cleaning up the market at least you must pay the teachers’ salaries.
“So I am not responsible for non-payment at that level. Non-payment of wages is a criminal breach in the law of contract.
“You can pay daily, weekly, monthly but not in excess of 30 days, you are breaching the agreement.”
Oshiomhole said as an activist he was in governance to know the ropes, know how to help people and counter concepts like god-fatherism in politics.
“I have been militant, will remain a militant and retire a militant not with guns. I don’t burst pipelines but we must react to sayings like the ‘if you can’t beat them join them’.”
The Chairman of the occasion, former Gov. Donald Duke of Cross River state, said the society should pursue improvement rather than change.
“Sadly politicians in our society are merely jobbers and budget padders. We advocate improvement and not change.
“We had a violent change in 1966, so change is not necessarily the way to go. Improvements however makes things happen, develops societies and affects the people positively.”
Bishop Mathew Kukah, the Convener of the event, said the essence of the forum was to design programmes that encourage debate and free exchange of ideas. “To serve as a mediating platform between the government, citizens and communities. “Also, to enhance the quality of leadership training at all levels both in the public and non-governmental sectors.”
