The organised labour union has stated it will not accept any ₦62,000 or ₦100,000 as the minimum wage for workers.
News About Nigeria reports that Onyeka, the assistant general secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, spoke in an interview on Channels Television programme on Monday.
Onyeka said the union will not negotiate a ”starvation wage”.
He insisted that the labour won’t accept the latest government’s offer of ₦62,000 and the ₦100,000 proposal by some individuals and economists.
“Our position is very clear; we have never considered accepting ₦62,000 or any other wage that we know is below what Nigerian workers can take home. We will not negotiate a starvation wage,” Onyeka said.
“We have never contemplated ₦100,000 let alone ₦62,000. We are still at ₦250,000, that is where we are, and that is what we considered enough concession to the government and the other social partners in this particular situation. We are not just driven by frivolities but the realities of the marketplace; realities of things we buy every day: bag of rice, yam, garri, and all of that.”
Onyeka said the one-week ultimatum given to the federal government since the ”relaxation of its strike” would expire by midnight on Tuesday, June 11.
He said that should the federal government and national assembly fail to act on the demands of workers by tomorrow, the joint NLC and TUC would meet to decide on the resumption of the nationwide industrial action.
Labour had embarked on the strike after negotiations with the federal government on a new minimum wage hit a brick wall and “relaxed” their nationwide strike for one week from June 4.
