The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says it would mount pressure on Federal Government to ensure payment of N35,000 wage award arrears to civil servants.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who made this known in an interview with Vanguard, said the labour union would also push for N200,000 minimum wage in its negotiation with the government.
He said the move was also in line with President Bola Tinubu in his New Year address that his administration will implement a “national living wage” this year.
Ajaero, who highlighted the indices that will be looked at before arriving at an acceptable figure for minimum wage, said that a committee on the review would be set up soon.
“The committee has not been set up but we have submitted all the names of the labour team. We thought that the government would have, on the first week of December 2023 or the last week of November, constituted the committee but, as of today (last Thursday), the committee has not been constituted. That is the situation but we have submitted the names, of those who are supposed to represent labour in the committee.”
Speaking on previous agreements with the Federal Government and the wage award to civil servants, Ajaero said :”I am sure you have read our New Year message. The government virtually reneged in all the agreements including the N35,000 (petrol subsidy palliative) wage award on which they paid only one month. They are going to start the year with the payment of the arrears. That is where we will start from; we have to start from where we stopped moving forward.
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“The issue of wage awards is not problematic. It was not imposed on the government. It was willingly covenanted to but immediately they attacked me, from the Labour circle we don’t know whether it was deliberate, they reneged in almost all the agreements. But now that I am back from the hospital, I am going to take them up. It is an agreement and we have to respect the sanctity of the agreement. So the arrears must be paid. Whatever that might be the circumstances that they didn’t pay, they have to pay and from there, we move on.”
On the new minimum wage, the NLC President said N200, 000 was not too much tp be paid when compared to the present value of naira.
“I didn’t just say N200,000. I tried to figure out the value of $200 then. So, if you are looking at the constant variables from the point of view of two hundred dollars, you will discover that a dollar is around a thousand two hundred naira now. You have to adjust based on the prevailing circumstances.”
“A lot. We have said it before. Cost of living, devaluation of the currency and the labour market vis a vis the countries that share the same value with us: The oil-exporting countries and some other countries that share the same economic indices with us. All those issues must come into play.”
*The projection is what I have told you. I have mentioned it to you. I have mentioned the value of the currency as of today. I mentioned about $200 and the value, we discussed it.”
FG to pay N35,000 subsidy palliative arrears, targets N200,000 minimum wage – NLC