NLC, TUC demand N56, 000 as new national minimum wage
Fri Apr 29, 2016 11:48:am National
2.2K By sosa hills
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has said that the organised labour will shut the country down if the Federal Government decides to neglect the demand of the union over N56, 000 minimum wage.
President of TUC, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, urged state governors who complained of lack of money to pay the proposed new wage to honourably resign from their offices.
According to Kaigama, going by current economic realities, Nigerian workers should have demanded between N90,000 to N100,000 as minimum wage, stressing that workers are fair for demanding N56,000 as Minimum Wage.
The current national minimum wage is N18, 000.
He lamented that government spends so much taking care of prisoners and neglecting welfare of workers who create the wealth.
According to him, about N27,000 monthly is being use to feed each prisoner, adding that this does not include the fact that the prisoner does not pay rent as well as other utility bills like water and electricity.
"They will be inviting trouble. What we are saying is that we have followed the due process. The law says after five years, there will be a review and we have followed that law.
"You also know that when we negotiated the N18, 000 minimum wage, the value in terms of exchange rate at that time was almost at N110 to the dollar.
"But as at today, the value of the naira to the dollar has been reduced; and there are the issues of inflation and purchasing power, among others to contend with.
"So, it also about the law of the review of the wage, the law envisaged that within a circle of five years, there must be a review," Mr. Wabba said.
Mr. Wabba called on the government to ensure that the issue of the national minimum wage was urgently taken on board as way of fighting corruption in the country.
He said if employers failed to cater for their workers' welfare adequately, it would be difficult for such an employer to fight corruption.
The NLC president said workers needed to be empowered financially to have the purchasing power to buy what they would need to survive.
"If manufacturers are producing and nobody is buying, the economy will be at a standstill because people lack the purchasing power to buy.
"So, these are some of the issues we will be pushing forward at the negotiation table and there must be a tripartite committee to look at the challenges, "he said.
President of TUC, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, urged state governors who complained of lack of money to pay the proposed new wage to honourably resign from their offices.
According to Kaigama, going by current economic realities, Nigerian workers should have demanded between N90,000 to N100,000 as minimum wage, stressing that workers are fair for demanding N56,000 as Minimum Wage.
The current national minimum wage is N18, 000.
He lamented that government spends so much taking care of prisoners and neglecting welfare of workers who create the wealth.
According to him, about N27,000 monthly is being use to feed each prisoner, adding that this does not include the fact that the prisoner does not pay rent as well as other utility bills like water and electricity.
"They will be inviting trouble. What we are saying is that we have followed the due process. The law says after five years, there will be a review and we have followed that law.
"You also know that when we negotiated the N18, 000 minimum wage, the value in terms of exchange rate at that time was almost at N110 to the dollar.
"But as at today, the value of the naira to the dollar has been reduced; and there are the issues of inflation and purchasing power, among others to contend with.
"So, it also about the law of the review of the wage, the law envisaged that within a circle of five years, there must be a review," Mr. Wabba said.
Mr. Wabba called on the government to ensure that the issue of the national minimum wage was urgently taken on board as way of fighting corruption in the country.
He said if employers failed to cater for their workers' welfare adequately, it would be difficult for such an employer to fight corruption.
The NLC president said workers needed to be empowered financially to have the purchasing power to buy what they would need to survive.
"If manufacturers are producing and nobody is buying, the economy will be at a standstill because people lack the purchasing power to buy.
"So, these are some of the issues we will be pushing forward at the negotiation table and there must be a tripartite committee to look at the challenges, "he said.
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