The Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria has expressed disappointment over the delay in completing negotiations on a new minimum wage and urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the matter.
TUC President, Comrade Festus Osifo, made the call during a press briefing after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the labour movement, News About Nigeria reports.
Osifo ruled out the possibility of a new minimum wage being in place before the end of May and lamented that some states in the Niger Delta region, which receive huge sums of money from the Federation Account, have not paid wage awards or palliatives to their workers. He identified Delta, Imo, and Benue as the worst culprits.
TUC also criticised the federal government for not paying federal workers their wage award for March and April this year and demanded immediate payment to cushion the economic hardship.
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.”
The labour movement further called for the review of obsolete labour laws in the country, noting that attempts to pass a new labour law during the ninth National Assembly were unsuccessful.
Osifo also expressed concern over the lukewarm attitude of some state governors towards paying wage awards and distributing palliatives to workers.
He commended states like Borno, Oyo, Lagos, Kaduna, Rivers, Yobe, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, and the Federal Capital Territory for doing well in this regard.
TUC also condemned the unilateral decision by the Federal Government to increase electricity tariffs without consulting stakeholders, describing it as hasty and worrisome, especially since most Nigerians are not metered.
The labour movement decried the level of insecurity in the country, which has prevented farmers from cultivating their farms, leading to rising food prices. They urged the government to address the situation urgently.
The TUC expressed disappointment over the failure of the Port Harcourt refinery to commence operations as promised by the Federal Government, contributing to fuel queues in parts of the country.
The labour union said, “Sometime last year TUC made a visit to Port Harcourt refinery and government told us that by April the refinery will start production, but till date nothing is working there. We urge government to do everything possible to make it operational.
