The Nigeria Labour Congress has reiterated its plans to boycott the upcoming elections if the government refuses to approve the new minimum wage it has been clamouring for.
While addressing newsmen, NLC’s assistant secretary general, Denja Yakub, explained that the Congress has been very calm with the president and it’s about time they took things further.
He said, “All this the governors and ministers are saying – they are trying to politicise it and if it continues – no vote from Nigerian workers.”
He then emphasized, “No minimum wage, no vote from Nigerian workers.”
Although NLC had planned to embark on a protest on Tuesday, 8th of January, Yakub lamented that governors seem unbothered about the matter, and the Congress needs to apply a more drastic approach.
He explained, “because we don’t owe them accountable, they feel they have the ability to manipulate people’s intelligence.”
Yakub equally explained that the 300,000 new minimum wage was not a decision solely made by the Congress. He said that the government, NLC officers, as well as representatives from the private sector were present at the meeting.
Yakub lamented, “Government actively participated. What was collectively agreed upon was 30,000. We didn’t have anything less than 30,000 and that is what has been taken to the president (Buhari) to be enacted into law.”
He continued to explain, “We didn’t impose a figure, we negotiated the figure and it was proposed with all members of the committee as provided by law. They can’t bend the rules.”
The congressman subsequently asked that Zamfara state governor who happens to double as the leader of the Nigeria Governors Forum, should not politicize the minimum wage issue.
He said, “Whatever politics the government and governors, especially Yari, who can’t even manage his state has been going up and down playing politics with the minimum wage – you can’t play politics with minimum wage.”
Related: Minimum Wage: Organised Labour Fixes Date For Nationwide Strike
Leave a Reply