Contrary to the allegations that the labour representatives at the Joint national public service negotiation council are delaying the process of implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Thursday, accused government of not saying the truth.
President of the Congress Comrade Ayuba Wabba, while speaking on the sidelines of the 2019 International Youths Day, said the comments which was credited to the Chairman of National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Mr. Richard Egbule, was unfortunate.
According to Wabba, workers who are at the receiving end cannot delay the process, adding that they want a figure that is commensurate with the challenges workers pass through.
The NLC president said with the current high cost of goods and services, the workers take home pay cannot sustain them, the peanut offered by Government is unacceptable.
He said: “Despite the fact that TUC and NLC are not directly driving the process of consequential adjustment, the process is ongoing, I read this morning that the Joint Public Service Negotiation Council are having meeting, if there is any stalemate, we’ll be informed and we will find a way to assist them.
“They have made the details of their discussion public, for anybody on that table to say that Labour is delaying the process is not saying the obvious. I was also told that the person that made that statement is the chairman of the technical committee, clearly speaking, it is not I good faith.
On the concerns that some states won’t be able to pay the new wage, he said from the perspective of labour, we will work assiduously with all our state councils, all our structures to ensure that no worker is shut charged in any state that is the commitment of labour.
“People will want to conserve money, resources but I think at this point we must also realize the centrality of the challenge that the workers have passed through especially with high cost of goods and services and lack of purchasing power for ordinary workers”.
