The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), South West zone, has condemned the delay in the implementation of the new national, minimum wage.
Speaking at its quarterly meeting in Lagos, the coordinator, TUC, South West zone, Comrade Olubunmi Fajobi, stated that the labour centre condemned in strong terms the delay and the segmented implementation of the minimum wage, as deliberate act and divisive measure of government to further impoverish the poor in Nigeria.
“We equally take with a pinch of salt what seems as surreptitious move by the government to confine the country’s civil service to penury, especially with the unrealistic proposals of 11.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent increment for grade levels 7 to 14 and 15 to 17, respectively,” he said.
Fajobi stated that the approved review of the wage in the first instance was not based on random decision of figures, rather, the yardstick directly touched on prevailing socio-economic realities against the country’s gross domestic product, among other essentials of economics.
The TUC boss said it stands logic on its head when the authorities choose via their representatives on the Consequential/Relativity Adjustment Committee to act as though public workers were inconsequential.
Fajobi said the patience of the labour movement over the issue has been over-stretched and it is expedient that the government ends its hard stance and acts fast in order to forestall the impeding national industrial action that would negatively impact the economy. “We are in complete support of the national leadership of organised labour and the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council in their decisions and steps on this issue” he said.