In a press briefing following the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria expressed deep concern over the delay in finalizing negotiations for a new minimum wage, stating that it is unlikely to be implemented before the end of May.
According to reports, TUC President Comrade Festus Osifo emphasized the urgent need for government action to alleviate the economic hardships faced by workers.
The TUC highlighted the failure of some states, particularly in the Niger Delta region, to pay wage awards or provide palliatives to their workers despite receiving substantial allocations from the Federation Account. States such as Delta, Imo, and Benue were singled out as the worst offenders in this regard.
Furthermore, the TUC criticized the federal government for its failure to pay federal workers the wage awards for March and April 2024. Comrade Osifo called for immediate action to release these payments to mitigate the economic strain on workers.
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?
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.”
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