‘Nigerian workers never get demands on platter of gold’

NLC President Ayuba Wabba said on Thursday in Port Harcourt that Nigerian workers had always engaged in struggles before government met their demands.

Wabba said this during an interaction between labour leaders and workers.

“There had never been anything that labour got on a platter of gold since the history of labour movement in Nigeria.

“We are here (Port Harcourt) to interface with Rivers workers and know how they are faring.”

He said that NLC was aware of the present condition of Nigerian workers, noting that many states were owing workers backlog of unpaid salaries.

Wabba alleged that workers were not receiving fair treatment, yet they create wealth and implement government policies and programmes.

According to him, dead workers are not immediately replaced, thereby putting additional workload on existing workers.

He said that unity was the strength of labour unions all over the world, stressing that “injury to one is injury to all”.

Wabba further said that the NLC had visited almost all the states of the federation, feeling the pulse of the workers.

Earlier, Mr Austin Jonah, the Rivers Chairman, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), told newsmen that the N50,000 minimum wage demanded by labour was feasible.

The Labour leader said that the N18,000 current minimum wage was nothing to write home about and argued that a prisoner’s meals per day cost N900, totalling N27,000 per month.

‘’You can see that the prisoner is better off than the Nigeria worker.’’

Jonah said that TUC and NLC had fought each other but had settled their differences and were now working as one union.