Kaduna State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Tuesday chided governors stalling the implementation of the new national minimum wage, saying their action was self serving.
“The governors do not patronise markets and, therefore, ignorant of the suffering of workers and other Nigerians,” Adamu Ango, Chairman of the chapter said on Tuesday in Kaduna while addressing a protest over the new minimum wage.
“Everything about them has been taken care of by the government with huge sums of money.
“Same people hide under security vote to spend any amount of money without being audited, but for workers to be paid N30,000, they are saying no.
“If government is truly fighting corruption, they should pay a living wage not even minimum wage,” he stressed.
Ango explained that the protest was summoned by organised labour to sensitize workers on the agitation for a new national minimum wage.
“Since negation has been concluded, the Federal Government should transmit a bill to the National Assembly (NASS) so that it becomes law.
“We are not asking for anything, we have made sacrifices enough, we create wealth, but some few individuals are now eating up the wealth and taking us as slaves.”
Ango told state governors to cut all unnecessary expenses, be judicious and listen to the voice of voiceless.
He urged workers to stand firm and vote out anybody who is anti-labour during the forthcoming general election.
Also the state Chairman of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Shehu Mohammed said in a message that the new national minimum wage was the constitutional right of workers and not a privilege.
He, therefore, advised President Muhammadu Buhari to transmit a bill for the minimum wage to the National Assembly, to avert further confrontation with workers.
Mohammad, whose message was delivered by Ibrahim Nda, expressed the belief that state governments would be able to pay the new wage if they end corruption in the system.
The NLC in Oyo State also told governors to be prepared to implement the N30,000 minimum wage.
State NLC Chairman, Waheed Olojede, spoke in Ibadan during a peaceful rally to canvass the transmission of the Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly.
The protest, which witnessed a low turnout of workers, moved from the NLC Secretariat at Agodi-Gate to the Government Secretariat where labour delivered a letter to Gov. Abiola Ajimobi.
Olojede said that since governors and other employers of labour had representatives on the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage, they should be prepared to pay the N30,000 agreed upon.
“What the NLC is demanding for is nothing short of N30,000.
“Even at the N30,000 minimum wage we are demanding for, it means an average worker takes home less than N1,000 per day because tax will still have to be deducted.
“An average Nigerian worker cannot survive on N1,000 per day, but since N30,000 was the agreement by the tripartite committee, we are abiding by it,” Olojede said.
The protest letter was received by the Deputy Governor, Chief Moses Adeyemo, who gave an assurance that the state government would do the needful.
