Members of the organised labour have brought its demand to the sum of N250,000 as the new minimum wage for workers while the federal government also raised its initial amount of N60,000 by N2,000, making N62,000 in total.
President of TUC, Festus Osifo, disclosed this to journalists in Abuja Friday night at Nicon Luxury Hotel, venue of the National Minimum Wage Tripartite committee meeting . Both sides were engaged in a 4-hour marathon meeting.
Osifo said the two labour centres have not agreed with both the government and the members of the Organised Private Sector on the new offer, arguing that they would continue to push for a wage that would stand the test of time in the country.
“As we are now, the Organised Private Sector and the government side, have recommended N62,000 to be minimum wage but for us, from Labour, we felt that with the current economic hardship and with the difficulty in the land, the sum of N250,000 should be the what should be okay as the minimum wage.
“This, we are going to send a report, by forwarding this position to Mr President. You know this committee is to make recommendations to the President, and Mr President will make recommendation to the National Assembly.
“We will keep pushing to ensure that we have a wage that can stand the test of time in Nigeria,” the labour leader, who was flanked by the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma; Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha and the chairman of Committee, said.
Also speaking after the meeting, Uzodinma, who was accompanied by his Kwara State counterpart, said there is no longer hostility among members of the committee and that the tension in the country has been eased, insisting that the committee would soon produce a joint report that would be presented to the President.
However, the NLC earlier lambasted the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, for terming Monday’s nationwide strike as “treasonable felony and economic sabotage”
The NLC, through the Head of Information and Public Affairs, Benson Upah while rejecting the SGF’s insinuations, said the former Benue State Governor’s utterances clearly exposed his personality.
Upah said, “Those who loot our treasury around the country, those who divert public resources meant for hospitals and schools; those who are involved in foreign exchange round-tripping; padding of budgets and inflating contracts including those who steal trillions of Naira in the name of subsidy are the real economic saboteurs who commit treasonable felony.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) expresses its profound disappointment and strong condemnation of the recent comments made by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) regarding the nationwide strike embarked upon by the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
“The SGF’s characterization of our legitimate and constitutionally protected industrial action as a “treasonable felony” and “economic sabotage” is not only deeply troubling but also undermines the spirit of constructive dialogue necessary for resolving the ongoing issues.”
By Idowu Isamotu
