The Trade Union Congress (TUC), has frowned at the non-completion of negotiations on a new minimum wage even as it called on the Federal Government to do what it can to finish up with negotiations.
The TUC President, Comrade Festus Osifo, who made the call while briefing journalists after the National Executive Council (NEC), of the labor movement, ruled out the possibility of having a new minimum wage in place before the end of May.
TUC, also lamented that some states in the Niger Delta region that collect huge sums of money from the Federation Account, have not paid neither the wage awards nor palliatives to their workers, accusing Delta, Imo, Benue as the worst culprits.
Besides, TUC, noted with dismay that the Federal Government has not paid federal workers the wage award for the months of March and April this year and called for the immediate payment of the wage award to cushion the economic hardship.
He said, “The NEC in session discussed the issues of minimum wage and that government has to do everything possible to ensure that this is fast tracked because the only way you can inflate your economy is when you empower the working class. The only way you can inflate your economy is when people have money to purchase goods in the supermarket, when people have money to go to the regular market to purchase items. If there is no money to purchase these items, if the purchasing power parity is relatively low, what is going to happen?
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So, we demand that the committee orf minimum wage, should hasten their activities so that a new minimum wage will be put in place. This is the only way that the economy will be re inflated.”
Comrade Osifo also called on the review of obsolete labour laws in the country, noting that, ” for several years, we have been trying to review the labor law all attempt to get the ninth National Assembly to pass the new labor law did not materialized.”
Commenting on wage award, Osifo said, “Then also in the issue of wage award, the NEC in session also frowned on the fact that the last wage award that was paid to the federal workers was February 2024 and that of March and April that is just ending have not been paid.
“So we hereby call on government to immediately, release the payment of wage award for March 2024 and April 2024 and to ensure regular payments moving forward, so that at the end of April, when salary is coming in, the wage award is also paid until the new minimum wage is put in place as agreed in the communique of October 2 of 2023.”
Also speaking on the Stephen Orosaye’s report, the TUC lamented that there is no representation of the organised labour in the committee for the review or implementation of the report.
“We hereby call on government to inculcate members of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria into the committee that is currently reviewing or implementing the Orosaye’s report, because you cannot shave our hairs when we are not there. We will not accept any fallout that is going to impact on our members when they conclude without us. So we demand that we must be there to look at what the committee is doing and also make our recommendations and make our voices heard.”
Lamenting on the lukewarm attitude of some state governors in the payment of wage award and distributing palliatives to the workers, TUC said, “There is no gain saying the fact that today we are facing economic hardship and based on this at the federal level, we engaged the federal government as you are aware, from last year that culminated in the signing of the communique on October 2 of 2023.
The TUC leadership also carpeted the Federal Government over its unilateral decision to increase electricity tariff without consultation with stakeholders.
According to Osifo, such decisions are not implemented in advanced climes. He said it is even more worrisome that most Nigerians are not metered, calling on the government to rescind implementation in the interest of the suffering masses.
TUC also decried the level of insecurity in the country, lamenting that farmers cannot go to farms for cultivation for fear of being killed.
He warned that unless government tackled the situation head on, the prices of food and other commodities would keep rising beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians.
He urged government to hasten up and actualize it, so as to lessen the economic hardship in the country.