The organised labour on Thursday in Lagos asked for a new minimum wage of N66,500 for all workers in the country....
The organised labour made the demand at the ‘Public Hearing on
National Minimum Wage for Nigerian Workers,’ organised by the Tripartite
Committee on the National Minimum Wage for the South-West zone in
Alausa, Ikeja.
Presenting the memoranda of the Nigerian Labour Congress, and the
Trade Union Congress, Agnes Sessi, the chairman, Political Committee,
NLC, Lagos State, said the current wage structure could not sustain any
worker.
According to her, the two labour bodies had agreed that there
should be an upward review of the minimum wage to meet the current
economic realities.
She said, “Based on the current realities, the two labour
unions want a new monthly national minimum wage of N66,500, which is
approximately the average of the implied minimum wages derived under
three approaches.”
“The approaches are: Comparative analysis based on minimum
wages in some African countries, an estimate of the monthly minimum cost
of providing basic needs to a family of six and two dependants, as well
as an analysis based on rising cost of living over time.”
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Lagos branch,
aligned with the NLC and TUC in asking for N66,500 new minimum wage. The
spokesperson for the association, Akeem Kazeem, said the upward review
of the national minimum wage was long overdue.
In his address, the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode,
represented by the state Head of Service, Folasade Adesoye, said there
was the need for workers to be reasonably remunerated.
“The issue, however, which I believe is more peculiar to the
public sector, is striking a balance between what goes into recurrent
expenditure — of which salaries and allowances are a major component —
and the ability of government to fulfil its obligations to the larger
society.”
He said stakeholders should be flexible in their demands in the overall interest of everyone.
Earlier, the Chairman, Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum
Wage and the Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, who was represented
by the Deputy Governor, Col. Samaila Dabai (retd.), said the tripartite
committee would still organise more public hearings.
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