The labour unions in Nigeria led by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, may be forced to get back to the drawing board, as 36 State Governors have say they can’t afford the N60,000 new minimum wage earlier proposed by the Federal Government.
Nigeria lost N148.8 billion in oil revenue due to the organized labour’s industrial action protesting the N60,000 minimum wage proposal by the FG against they N494,000 demanded.
Again, the two-day nationwide strike led to an estimated N7 billion loss for the country, affecting domestic cargo agents and halting airline operations.
The shutdown of the national grid, as reported, occurred on June 3, 2024, at about 2:19 a.m., leading to a nationwide blackout. This action alone resulted in huge economic losses due to halted operations across multiple industries.
Many people were likely glued to their news feeds this week, worried about the strike. Imagine waking up Monday morning to a nation on hold.
Schools closed, businesses shuttered, hospitals and airports facing standstills – that was the reality Nigerians faced this week with the strike by the NLC and TUC.
However, labour suspended the strike to enable more negotiations with the government at the center.
As the negotiations as still ongoing, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, said that is in agreement that a new minimum wage is due.
However, the Forum urges all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners.
The NGF led by AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the governor of Kwara State, as chairman, “cautions parties in this important discussion to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.
“All things considered, the NGF holds that the N60,000 minimum wage proposal is not sustainable and cannot fly.
“It will simply mean that many states will spend all their FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes. In fact, a few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month. We do not think this will be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.
“We appeal that all parties involved, especially the labour unions, consider all the socioeconomic variables and settle for an agreement that is sustainable, durable, and fair to all other segments of the society who have legitimate claim to public resources”.
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