Labour fumes, warming up for confrontation with FG

Labour unions in Nigeria are reportedly warming up for a possible confrontation with the federal and state governments over the lack of progress on a new minimum wage for public sector workers.

The unions have indicated that they could not rule out industrial actions.

Their grouse is not unconnected with the failure of the Federal Government to constitute a committee to negotiate the new minimum wage.

The Federal Government has yet to name its representatives whereas the labour unions have expressed readiness to begin the talks as their negotiators are on standby.

The rising inflation in the country has led to a high cost of living as prices of goods and services continue to skyrocket, thereby decimating the purchasing power of an average Nigerian.

This has made the labour unions agitate for a drastic review of the existing wage scale for workers.

PUNCH, in its Sunday edition, recalls that in June 2023, workers and some labour leaders demanded that the minimum wage be increased from N30,000 to N250,000. The amount was later adjusted to N200,000 monthly.

This was made known by the Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Chris Onyeka, who stated that many workers could no longer afford their rents, or pay their children’s school fees.

He also lamented that with the increase in the cost of transportation by almost 300 per cent, many civil servants were trekking to work.

The minimum wage was reviewed from N18,000 to N30,000 on April 18, 2019, after several years of negotiations between Labour and the government.

The Federal Government also stressed that governors of the 36 states of the federation should pay the new minimum wage of N30,000.

However, to date, several states have yet to implement the law.

Executives of the Organised Labour had said they had appointed representatives who would join the Federal Government representative on the National Minimum Wage Review Committee.

The committee, by law, is supposed to oversee the negotiations and send recommendations to the Federal Government on appropriate wage rates reflective of new economic realities.

The Trade Union Congress has reportedly threatened to embark on an industrial action if the government continued to treat the issue with levity.

According to the Deputy President of TUC, Tommy Etuk, the wage review committee was supposed to have been set up before now, as the country was due to have a new minimum wage by April 2024.

“If there is no agreement on the minimum wage review, there’s nothing anyone can do. I assure you that it is a recipe for industrial disharmony. The government should inaugurate the committee and let it start work on time to see some grey areas where we can agree or disagree, and work in tandem with the principle of collective bargaining so that we can arrive at a collective agreement.

“We believe it’s the best option rather than waiting for the 11th hour to decide what to give to the organised labour. It will not work that way,” Etuk is quoted by PUNCH.