The South-South zone of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) proposed on Thursday that the new national minimum wage be pegged at the sum of eight hundred and fifty thousand Naira (N850,000), News About Nigeria reports.
The proposal was conveyed by the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Akwa Ibom State Council, Comrade Sunny James, in his presentation and submission of the zonal South South public hearing organised by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage in Uyoh, the Akwa-Ibom state capital.
According to him, the new minimum wage proposal is so Nigerian workers can survive in the face of the recent economic challenges.
“The Nigerian worker is calling for a decent work environment and a living wage that is commensurate to their labour,” he stated.
James also expressed displeasure over the failure of some states in the region to implement the current N30,000 minimum wage, which was last reviewed in 2019.
He also lamented the fact that most of these states budgeted a higher allocation for running the government than other sectors of the economy yet they are unable to pay the current minimum wage.
He, therefore, called for the impeachment of state governors who, according to him, are ‘insensitive’ and have refused to pay the minimum wage to workers.
Speaking on the current economic challenges in Nigeria, he noted that there has been “anger and hunger” in the land since President Bola Tinubu declared an end to fuel subsidy in his inaugural address in May last year.
James also noted that workers are suffering harsh economic realities because they receive little to nothing in salaries even after giving their best.
He therefore called on the Tinubu-led federal government to listen to the plea of the workers by approving their proposed minimum wage.
James also tasked the President with creating an environment for businesses to grow by providing power supplies, repairing refineries, and building new modular refineries.
