June 11, (THEWILL)- Organised labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), has suspended any action to resume its industrial action pending the decision of President Bola Tinubu on the national minimum wage.
THEWILL recalls that the labour unions had suspended its indefinite strike on Tuesday, for one week to allow room for negotiation after it rejected the N60,000 earlier proposed by the Federal Government as the national minimum wage.
On Friday, the Federal Government and Organised Private Sector (OPS), through the Tripartite Committee, offered N62,000 even as organised labour shifted its demand from N494,000 to N250,000 national minimum wage.
However, speaking at the ongoing International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said labour was not going on strike as they were waiting for the decision of President Tinubu.
“The tripartite committee submitted two figures to the President. Government and employers proposed N62,000, while labour proposed N250,000.
“We are waiting for the decision of the President. Our National Executive Council (NEC) will deliberate on the new figure when it is out. We cannot declare a strike now because the figures are with the President. We will wait for the President’s decision.
“During the tenure of the immediate past President, the figure proposed to him was N27,000 by the tripartite committee. But he increased it to N30,000. We are hopeful that this President will do the right thing. The President had noted that the difference between N62,000 and N250,000 is a wide gulf,” he said.
Ajaero also tackled State Governors who expressed their inability to sustain the N60,000 minimum wage.
“How can any Governor say he cannot pay? They cannot also be calling for the decentralisation of the minimum wage. Are their wages decentralised?
“Governors whose states are not contributing a dime to the national purse and who generate pitiable Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) are collecting the same amount as governors whose states are generating billions of dollars into the FAAC. They should decentralise their salaries and emoluments first.
“So, where is the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, getting his money from? He is paying N70,000 minimum wage. This is the type of Governor that should be emulated and not the lazy ones,” he said.
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