Labour union N494,000 minimum wage demand fit scata di economy – Nigeria goment
Nigeria goment don react to di threat of indefinite strike wey organised labour declare say dem go embark on, if goment no dance to dia tune on top di new minimum wage mata.
Di Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris say di sum of N494,000 national minimum wage wey labour unions dey demand no dey sustainable.
Oga Idris wey tok dis one during one press conference for Abuja, di kontri capital explain say di amount wey di union dey ask fit scata di kontri economy.
“Di sum of N494,000 national minimum wage wey labour dey ask for go all togeda amount to di sum of N9.5 trillion bill and e fit destabilize di economy plus affect di welfare of ova 200 millions Nigerians.” E tok.
Na on Friday 31 May, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and di Trade Union Congress (TUC) bin declare say indefinite strike go begin from Monday sake of di increase in electricity tariff plus di goment inability to reach agreement wit dem on new minimum wage.
Di unions dey demand for N494,000 per month as di new minimum wage sake of di current reality but di Nigeria goment and organised private sector dey offer to pay N60,000.
Di minister of information add say “Nigerians need to understand say although goment desire big salary for Nigerian workers, wetin dey important pass for President Tinubu be say im no want action wey fit lead to massive job loss.”
E beg di organised labour union to come back to di negotiating table, and make dem agree on reasonable and realistic wages for dia members.
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Labour declare nationwide strike sake of minimum wage
Di Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) don already declare indefinite nationwide strike from Monday, 3 June.
Di strike come afta di labour join bodi say dem no fit secure new minimum wage from di federal goment.
Labour bin announce di strike for one joint TUC/ NLC news conference for Abuja on Friday, 31 May.
Di ogas of di labour unions bin try reach agreement for new minimum wage wit federal goment before di end of May, but e no work out.
Federal goment bin no gree raise di moni from N60,000 minimum wage wey dem tok for dia last meeting.
Labour dey insist on N497,000 as minimum wage.
“We reiterate say since di National Minimum Wage negotiation exercise neva dey concluded and di agreed wage neva dey passed into law; di hike in electricity tariff neva dey reversed and di categorisation of consumers into bands neva stop as demanded; Nigerian workers dey compelled by dis failures to embark on one indefinite nationwide industrial action wey go begin on Monday, di 3rd of June, 2024 to press home our demands," President of TUC Festus Osifo tok.
Initially, di Nigerian goment bin dey propose to add N18,000 to di current N30,000 national minimum wage, making it N48,000 for di new minimum wage, according to di leadership of di organised labour.
But dis na far cry from di N615,000 wey di labour unions for Nigeria bin don present to goment as wetin dem believe suppose be di new minimum wage, a proposal di goment also describe as unrealistic.
Di national president of di Trade Union Congress, Festus Usifo, tok say N48,000 dey even lower dan wetin di least earning federal worker dey currently earn.
Remember say President Bola Tinubu bin announce a N35,000 wage award to federal workers from October 2023 until new minimum wage go start. E mean say di least personnel for di Nigeria civil service dey currently earn at least N65,000 monthly.
“Di goment proposal of a small N48,000 as di minimum wage na insult to di sensibilities of Nigerian workers and e also fall short of meeting our needs and aspirations," di NLC and TUC bin tok for a joint statement on Wednesday 15 May 2024.
"As at wen we bin negotiate N18,000 for 2011, di money fit buy two bags of rice. Wen we bin negotiate di N30,000 for 2019, e fit buy at least one and half bags of rice. Today, N48,000 no go fit buy one bag of rice, so how pesin fit survive on dat amount?" Usifo tok for TV interview on dat Wednesday.
Tripartite Committee on di National Minimum Wage react to strike organised labour unions declare
Di Tripartite Committee on di National Minimum Wage also explain why goment dey offer N60,000 as minimum wage.
Di committee for one statement dem issue tok say, employers from both di goment side and organised private sector bin agree to pay N60,000 per month, wey be 100% increase on di existing national minimum wage of 2019.
Di statement wey di Secretary of di committee sign tok say during di last meeting wey hold on Tuesday 28 September, di organised labour bin make an offer of N494,000 per month, wey be 1, 547% increase on di existing National minimum wage of 2019.
Di committee say di amount wey labour dey ask for dey high sake of economic issues wey dey ground plus di goment non-monetary incentives dey do to support kontri pipo.
However, afta plenty tok-tok, organised labour waka comot di meeting. Di oda parties wey include goment and di private sector conclude say di outcome of a new minimum wage suppose be wetin no go make pipo lose dia jobs.
“In conclusion, di meeting agree say even where major and small business dey close shops, wey dey lead to job loss, di outcome of di new minimum wage suppose be something wey no go trigger further massive job losses.”
Goment give reasons why dem no fit accept organised labour union N494,000 new minimum wage offer
Goment list di non-monetary incentives dem dey give kontri pipo.
- N35,000 wage award for all treasury-paid Federal workers.
- 100 billion naira for di procurement of CNG-fuelled busses and CNG conversion kits.
- 125-billion-naira conditional grant and financial inclusion to MSMEs.
- N25,000 each dem go share give 15 million households for 3 months.
- 185 billion palliatives (loans to States) to cushion di effects of fuel subsidy removal.
- 200 billion naira to support di cultivation of hectares of land to boost food production.
- 75 billion naira to strengthen di manufacturing sector.
- 1 trillion naira for student loans for higher education.
- Release of 42,000 metric tons of grains from strategic reserves.
- Purchase and onward distribution of 60,000 metric tons of Rice from di rice millers association.
- Recent salary increase of 25-35 per cent on all consolidated Salary structures for federal workers.
- 90% subsidy on health costs for Federal Civil Servants registered on NHIS.
- Light rail dem commission for Abuja to reduce transportation cost till di end of di year. Lagos State don already start di same initiative wit dia Blue and Red lines.
- In addition to di freedom of Civil Servants to engage in agriculture, Federal Government don approve di inclusion of ICT services as side hustles.
