To work with govt on survival strategies

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has faulted plans by the Federal Government to sanction private employers over failure to adhere to the N70,000 minimum wage, insisting that every employer, including state governors, who fail to implement the new wage must be jailed.
   
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who stated the Congress’ position, yesterday, in Lagos, said “Anybody who runs foul of the law should be sanctioned” in line with the law, whether public, private or national.
 
He spoke at the 2024 National Minimum Wage Implementation Workshop, Southern Zone, with the theme ‘Strategies for Effective Implementation of the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act,’ where he stated that winning the fight for a new minimum wage was not enough but ensuring full implementation, for its benefits to reach every corner of the country.
   
“That is the position of the law. Let us have a general rule: whoever violates the Minimum Wage Act will go to jail. It is not enough to say any private sector or any private employer, but anybody who fails to comply must go to jail. The law was passed in the National Assembly and I think it should be respected. You can’t have rules for A that is different from rules for B. That is our position,” he stated.
 
Ajaero reacted to the position of the Federal Government, which called on agencies recruiting for the private sector to adhere to the N70,000 minimum wage, warning that any deviation would not be tolerated.
 
According to the Federal Government, the new minimum wage is necessary to address the current economic reality, emphasising that no Nigerian worker, whether in government or private employment, should be paid less than the minimum wage.
 
Ajaero, who noted that the yet-to-be-implemented N70,000 new minimum wage had been eroded by the recent increase in the price of petroleum products, said Labour would work with the Federal Government on strategies to survive.
 
Stating that the new N70,000 wage was even worse than a starvation wage, he warned that any revolt by the citizens over hardship in the country might be difficult to control.
   
According to him, while those in power are trying to cage Labour from speaking truth to power, there must be people who will interface between the masses and the state to tell them how the people are faring and the impact of certain policies on them.
 
Emphasising that the hardship in the country goes beyond minimum wage, he said: “The way naira is going down now, I am not sure any Nigerian is happy over it. The way foodstuff is getting high is a big problem. People are eating lizards as the easiest source of protein. People are using mango leaves as vegetables today. Things are difficult, the economy is seriously down. So, is that what we are supposed to do with the whole endowment we have in this country?
 
“No worker can even buy or build his own house. No worker can even maintain or buy a vehicle, and there is no vehicle plant. The health sector is getting worse by the day because those who feed well will be strong and they will be better. So, the situation is getting worse. Many people are getting sick. Pharmaceutical materials that come into the country are out of reach of an average person, and you don’t have free medicare. The death rate is increasing daily. It goes beyond just mere minimum wage.”