TUC threatens to reject implementation of Oronsaye’s report, seeks inclusion

• Rules out minimum wage law before May Day

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has threatened to reject aspects of Steve Oronsaye’s report that will affect the well-being of its members if it is not incorporated into the implementation committee.

The TUC President, Festus Osifo, who disclosed this at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the labour centre, explained that it will not accept the sacking of its members that is not embedded in a collective bargaining agreement.

His words: “We demand that the TUC be incorporated into the committee that is reviewing Steve Oronsaye’s report. We are making this demand now because we will not accept any fallout that is going to impact our members negatively without our input. Therefore, we demand that we must be there to participate in what the committee is doing and to have all the information that will inform the decisions that will be taken at the end of the day.”

Osifo, who observed that Nigerians are going through excruciating economic challenges now, decried turning palliatives into a permanent feature in the lives of Nigerians.

“There is no gainsaying that fact Nigeria is facing economic hardship today. After our agreement with the government on October 2nd, 2023, we empowered our state councils to follow up with their state governments to ensure that the tenets of the agreement are implemented at the state level. We must understand that palliatives are temporary measures to salvage a terrible situation and not a permanent solution to the economic challenges we are facing as a country.

“Therefore, we are calling on the government to come up with sustainable solutions that will meet the aspirations of Nigerian workers. Governments are elected to solve problems permanently and not provide part-time solutions to existential challenges that are confronting the populace,” he said.

Osifo accused some state governments of not showing the urgency of the purpose that the situation requires.

“We have collated reports across the country on the level of implementation of the palliatives by the state governments. Some states are doing well in the payment of wage awards, putting palliatives packages in place and introducing permanent solutions to the economic challenges we have in the country,” he stated.

Osifo lauded Borno, Oyo, Lagos, Rivers, Kaduna, Bayelsa, Yobe states and the FCT for putting in place concrete policies that have helped alleviate the sufferings of the people.

However, he lampooned the Benue state government for demonstrating a lack of empathy for its workers introducing no programme of note to assist its workforce navigate the current hardship, saying, “I hereby call on the government of Benue to introduce a robust mechanism to solve the economic hardships that our members and the masses are going through in that state.”

The TUC chief expressed sadness about the hardship workers in Anambra state are going through in a state that is governed by a professor of economics.
He said: “We felt that having a renowned economist, Anambra state’s case ought to be remarkably different, but we were wrong. We expected the state governor to put in place sustainable solutions to the sufferings of workers in that state.”

He also alleged that Delta and Imo states fall into the category of states that have done nothing or little to put smiles on the faces of their workforce.

Osifo stated that it left a sour taste in the mouth to know that Delta state which receives billions from the FAAC allocation as more as an oil-bearing state leaves its workers to suffer during plenty at a time when economic hardship is reigning in the land.

While appreciating the ‘little’ Akwa Ibom has done so far, Osifo insisted that much more is expected from the state government.

He added: “Katsina and Kebbi have not done much but we plan to engage the states that have done little or nothing in the coming days to see how they can improve so that our members can breathe.”

For workers who are looking forward to a new national wage floor to be announced by President Bola Tinubu on May 1, which is Workers’ Day, or on May 29 which is the first anniversary of the present administration, Osifo said they may look further into the future for such an announcement.

He explained that the negotiation process involved in arriving at a new wage floor cannot be achieved within the next few days.