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Workers canvass urgent increase in minimum wage

By Toyin Olasinde
13 April 2017   |   3:20 am
Workers under the aegis of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) have said increase in minimum wage should not be any other time than now that the country is in recession.

The President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba PHOTO: NAN

Workers under the aegis of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) have said increase in minimum wage should not be any other time than now that the country is in recession.

The organsied labour said increase in the 18,000 wages to 56,000 thousand would help in order to boost the productivity of workers in the country who are the engine of the economy.

Meanwhile, the Maritime Worker Union of Nigeria, former president, Tony Nted, said increase in minimum wage is what workers are due for but government should be given few periods to recovery from the recession.

Speaking in Lagos, the NLC president, Ayuba Wabba, said: “Increase in the wage thou people might say it coming at a wrong time but according to the constitution it is supposed to be review every five years.

‘Which the labour union as not done in years back and looking at the value of 18,000 thousand when it was newly signed the difference is much.

“So the request of the minimum wage to 56,000 now is not going to effect the economy negative rather will help build the productive of workers who already are the engine of the economy “he said.

He added that the basic problem that is affecting the minimum wage is implementation at all levels and that why in the wisdom of parliamentary committee all does critical stakeholders will actual be brought to the table together and indeed we have seen the commitment of the government because we told them that time is not on our side and even at the last meeting they now fix the next meeting date which is scheduled for 19th or 21st of April.

He said: “The Federal government will have review it without any problems but we want to carry along the organise private sectors because the essence of the minimum wage is to make sure that the poor of the poorest of workers is protected against exploration that the minimum go below which employee if labour can go below because right now many workers are been paid below 10,000 naira, which these are part of the issues we want to address because as union we believe if this are been put in place it will help workers leave good life’s.

According to him ”In order to achieve this we have to set up a parliamentary committee which was as a result of the increase in fuel price, which lead to the issue of minimum wage been accommodated, because the effects in pump price have actually brought to the challenge of low purchasing power, inflation, high cost of good and services, which we believe there’s no better time for the increase in minimum wage than now”.

“Now after the submission we expect the committee to come up with a meaningful ideas and solutions to the problem of minimum wage”.

“Also we want a comprehensive submission in other issues like housing, transport and other allowance that have been effected as rising in the increase of fuel prices” he said.

Wabba added as union we expect a full package that will address all this issues because it not just the workers that are effected but the whole Nigerian citizen.

He said: “we have agreed that all process will be aciculate which I believe in good faith can say the process of the committee is comprehensive enough so that we don’t have issues along the road and we look forward to having a 26 members committee where the state governor will be represented because they have actually been the problems and relating against the review of the minimum wage.

Which is to hold two weeks time the submission of the report will go to the president in which we can say indeed it making progress.
He than urge other stakeholders to partner with labour union in order to achieve the increase in minimum wage.

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