Minimum Wage: How NLC, TUC Demand of N494,000 Will Hike Inflation, Unemployment
- Organised labour has come under heavy criticism over its demand for a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers
- The North Central Citizens Council (NCCC) on Friday, described the demand by the NLC and the TUC of N494,000 new minimum wage as unrealistic and unpatriotic
- In a statement signed by the coordinator of the group, Comrade Mohammed Eneji, NCCC noted that "labour is clearly not prioritizing Nigeria and Nigerians in its negotiation process"
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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements
FCT, Abuja - The North Central Citizens Council (NCCC) has described the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC)'s agitation for a new minimum wage as reckless.
Source: Facebook
Tinubu offered to pay over N60k, labour demands N494,000
The leadership of the NCCC accused organised labour of overlooking the common man's plight.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration assured organised labour of paying more than N60,000 as the new minimum wage but the NLC and the TUC are demanding N494,000 as wage.
The council described the labour unions' demands as unpatriotic and unrealistic, considering the country's current economic challenges.
Minimum wage: Group insists governors cannot pay over N60,000k
Speaking further, the NCCC leadership described the efforts by the labor unions to force the federal government to succumb to their terms in the negotiation process as inhuman and selfish. They argued that this would adversely affect the common man who doesn’t earn a salary or wage.
The coordinator of the group, Comrade Mohammed Eneji, stated this in a statement shared with journalists in Abuja, The Guardian reported.
He noted that governors are struggling to pay the current minimum wage of N30,000, hence they cannot pay the over N60,000 labour is demanding and proposing to the current administration.
The group noted that the economic crisis is frustrating government efforts at the state and local levels to meet with the demands of the Nigerian workers.
“If these negotiations for an increase in the minimum wage of workers proceed without considering the adverse effects on ordinary citizens, especially those living in rural areas, the efforts will be counterproductive and useless,” Eneji said.
“Many state governors are still struggling to pay the current minimum wage of 30,000 naira. How, then, can we expect that the governments, both at the state and local levels, will be able to pay a minimum wage of 60,000 naira and above?”
“The labor movement is clearly not prioritizing Nigeria and Nigerians in this negotiation process. As such, the NCCC is demanding that labor unions review and consider the plight of the larger percentage of Nigerians who are not on the government or private sector payroll. This segment of the population constitutes the largest workforce in Nigeria, compared to government employees, who are less than 1% of the entire Nigerian population.”
SGF George Akume: Why I can't pay my drivers N100,000 monthly
Amid talks for a new minimum wage, George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said he couldn’t pay each of his four drivers N100,000 monthly.
On Thursday, June 6, Akume highlighted his financial difficulties, hence his inability to pay each of his four drivers N100,000 a month. He appealed for support as the tripartite committee on minimum wage continues with its negotiations.
Akume decried the demands made by the organised labour, adding, “Where do we get that money from?”
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