Labour to govs on minimum wage: Retrieve Nigeria from state of resentment, misery
The Organized Labour has warned some governors not to plunge the country into a state of resentment, misery and impoverishment through wrong pieces of advice to President Bola Tinubu.
It also reiterated that the position taken by President Tinubu on the two proposals before him from the final report of the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage would determine its next line of action.
Recall that the government team and organized private sector had made an offer of N62,000 on the last day of the meeting of the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage, while organized labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, demanded N250,000 as a new living wage.The Head of Information of the NLC, Benson Upah, in an interview with newsmen said the two labour centres would subject whatever figure the President would submit to the National Assembly to the decision of the appropriate organs of the two labour centres.
He also ruled out the option of rushing to strike immediately, explaining that it was not every problem that would be solved with strike, adding that strike was always the last option.On the allegation that state governors were the obstacle on the new minimum wage and organized labour’s response to the disposition of the governors to a new living wage, Upah said the governors having a negative disposition to a new living wage were in the minority but very vocal.
On the possibility of labour going on strike, if government remained adamant to pay N62,000, Upah said whatever government offers in the final analysis will be subject to the decision of the appropriate organs of the two labour centres.