The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has dismissed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s claim that federal government and labour agreed on a new minimum wage for the workforce.
In his Democracy Day Speech on Wednesday, June 12, Tinubu will soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon in the next five years or less.
“We have negotiated in good fate and open arms with organized labor on a national minimum wage, we will soon send our executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon in the next five years or less”, Tinubu had said.
But in a statement by Acting President of NLC, Comrade Prince Adewale Adeyanju, President Tinubu may have accurately recounted parts of the democratic journey’s history, but he was misinformed regarding the outcome of the wage negotiation process.
He said they expected the President to harmonize the two figures submitted to him by the Tripartite Committee in favour of workers and masses, stating that it would have been a fitting Democracy Day gift.
According to the Acting NLC President, “The NLC would have expected that the advisers of the President would have told him that we neither reached any agreement with the federal government and the employers on the base figure for a National Minimum Wage nor on its other components. Our demand still remains N250,000 (two hundred and fifty thousand Naira) only and we have not been given any compelling reasons to change this position which we consider a great concession by Nigerian workers during the tripartite negotiation process.
“We are therefore surprised at the submission of Mr. President over a supposed agreement. We believe that he may have been misled into believing that there was an agreement with the NLC and TUC.
“There was none and it is important that we let the President, Nigerians and other national stakeholders understand this immediately to avoid a mix up in the ongoing conversation around the national minimum wage. We have also not seen a copy of the document submitted to him and will not accept any doctored document.
“However, we want to reaffirm our belief that the President on whose table the Tripartite Committee’s report presently resides would prepare an Executive Bill which content will reflect the true demand of Nigerian workers. We think that this is an opportunity for him to demonstrate his love for Nigerian workers and masses by shunning the pieces of advise that may be coming from those whose intentions are continuously focused on hurting the p00r and struggling workers of Nigeria. Mr. President should not allow these individuals and groups to sabotage his promise of lifting Nigerian workers out of poverty.
“President’s advisers obviously did not tell him the truth that the leaders of the trade unions were intimidated and harassed. It is therefore important that Mr. President understands that we were threatened severally by his operatives perhaps without his consent.”
