Organised labour has urged President Bola Tinubu to expedite action on the speedy passage of the new National Minimum Wage proposal to the National Assembly.

Labour equally urged him to engage with stakeholders concerned about the onward submission of the new minimum wage proposal to the National Assembly this week.

President of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Festus Osifo, told The Guardian that as members of the National Assembly officially resume this week after the Sallah break, Tinubu should expedite action to ease the suffering of Nigerian workers, who are already overwhelmed by the wanton deprivation in the land and quick transmission of the report.

According to him, Tinubu should not wait for labour’s agitation but give preference to the wage decisions this week. President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, said organised labour expected Tinubu to have, before now, consulted with the leadership of the trade unions and the Minimum Wage Bill transmitted to the National Assembly for onward passage into law.

He said the consultation was based on the fact that there was no agreement on the wage figure, where the organised labour demanded N250,000 while the government and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) offered to pay N62,000.

For the President to say he wants to consult with state governors, he asserts, means the government is not putting its house in order.
The NLC chief stressed that the minimum wage negotiation was a tripartite process of government, employers in the private sector and labour, adding, “We are not negotiating with state governors and the competent authority in this regard is the Federal Government.”

According to him, if the President is competent and driven by patriotism, humanness and love for the Nigerian workers and the economy, labour expects him to do something expeditiously.

Ajaero said: “They should have put their house in order even before coming to meet with us. What we want to hear is that they want to consult with the OPS and the trade unions. It is an aberration for the Federal Government to say it wants to consult with governors. These are what they should have done privately.

It shows incompetence and lack of serious understanding of what should be done.

“What they are bringing to the limelight is that they have not put their own house in order and come up with one voice. There are several ways to delay the process. For us, for whatever time it is agreed upon, it will take effect from May 18, 2024, and they will pay in arrears that is the reality.

“The Federal Government is trying to hide under the state governors. Any governor that cannot pay the new minimum wage, when it becomes effective, should resign. This is earned income, we don’t want to be beggars.”