JUST IN: NLC Gives Fresh Update On Resuming Nationwide Strike Tomorrow

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has given a fresh update about resuming a nationwide strike action across Nigeria tomorrow (Tuesday) after it rejected the minimum wage amount offered by the Federal Government.

NLC dismissed the possibility of initiating a strike on Tuesday despite rejecting the N62,000 offered to the organised labour. NLC President Joe Ajaero made this disclosure on Monday at the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ajaero indicated that organized labour cannot proceed with the strike tomorrow because the minimum wage proposals submitted by the Tripartite Committee are currently with President Bola Tinubu.

He clarified that the proposal of N62,000 put forth by the government and the employers’ association, alongside labour’s demand for N250,000, does not mean that labour has agreed to the N62,000 figure.

Ajaero elaborated: “The tripartite committee submitted two figures to the President. Government and employers proposed N62,000 while labour proposed N250,000. We are awaiting the President’s decision. Our National Executive Council (NEC) will discuss the new figure once it is disclosed.

“We cannot call for a strike now because the proposals are with the President. We will wait for his decision.

“During the last President’s term, the proposed figure was N27,000 by the tripartite committee, but he increased it to N30,000. We hope this President will make a similar, if not better, decision. The President acknowledged the significant difference between N62,000 and N250,000.”

The NLC President also criticized state governors within the Nigerian Governors’ Forum for rejecting the N62,000 minimum wage proposal.

He commented, “How can any governor say he cannot pay? They should not be calling for the decentralization of the minimum wage. Are their wages decentralized? Governors from states with minimal contributions to the national treasury and low Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) are receiving the same amount as those from states generating substantial revenues. They should decentralize their own salaries and benefits first.

“Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, for instance, pays a N70,000 minimum wage. He should serve as an example, unlike the less proactive governors.”