The organised labour, consisting of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has firmly rejected the Federal Government’s proposal of a N62,000 minimum wage for workers.
Chris Onyeka, the Assistant General Secretary of the NLC, declared the union’s stance during an appearance on Channels TV’s Morning Brief on Monday, emphasizing that they will not negotiate a “starvation wage.”
“Our position is very clear, we have never considered accepting N62,000 or any other wage that we know is below what Nigerian workers can take home.
We will not negotiate a starvation wage,” Onyeka stated.
He further clarified, “We have never contemplated N100,000, let alone N62,000.
We are still at N250,000; that is where we are, and that is what we considered enough concession to the government and the other social partners in this particular situation.”
Onyeka highlighted the dire economic realities that Nigerian workers face, saying, “We are not just driven by frivolities but also by the realities of the marketplace—the realities of things we buy every day: bags of rice, yam, garri, and all of that.”
The NLC and TUC have issued a one-week ultimatum to the Federal Government and National Assembly to address their demands.
Onyeka warned that if no tangible response is received by Tuesday, the unions might resume the nationwide industrial action that was temporarily suspended last week.
He stressed the urgency of the situation, stating, “The Federal Government and the National Assembly have the call now.
It is not our call.
Our demand is there for the government to look at and send an executive bill to the National Assembly and for the National Assembly to look at what we have demanded, the various facts of the law, and then come up with a national minimum act that meets our demands.”
Onyeka added, “If that does not meet our demand, we have given the Federal Government one-week notice to look at the issues and that one week expires tomorrow.
If, after tomorrow, we have not seen any tangible response from the government, the organs of the organised labour will meet to decide what to do next.”
Labour had suspended their strike for a week after the Federal Government requested time for negotiations following a nationwide strike that disrupted activities across the country.
Onyeka concluded, “It was clear what we said.
We said we were relaxing a nationwide indefinite strike.
It’s like putting a pause on it.
So, if you put a pause on something and the organs that govern us as trade unions decide that we should remove that pause, it means that we go back to what was in existence before.”
