Labour Union: We Reject ₦62,000 Proposal, May Resume Suspended Strike
The Organised Labour has firmly rejected the ₦62,000 minimum wage proposed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, as well as the ₦100,000 recommended by some Nigerians, labeling such amounts as “starvation wages.”
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief show on Monday, June 10, Chris Onyeka, an Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said that the Union has not considered even ₦100,000, let alone ₦62,000, and could resume the suspended strike if the government fails to make a suitable offer.
“We have never considered accepting ₦62,000 or any other wage that we know is below what we know is able to take Nigerian workers home. We will not negotiate a starvation wage,” Onyeka said.
On Friday, June 7, after nearly 12 hours of negotiations, the Federal Government added ₦2,000 to its proposed ₦60,000 minimum wage, while the organised labour reduced its demand from ₦494,000 to ₦250,000.
“We have never contemplated ₦100,000, let alone ₦62,000. We are still at ₦250,000, that is where we are, and that is what we consider enough concession to the government and the other social partners in this particular situation. We are not just driven by frivolities but the realities of the marketplace; the realities of things we buy every day: bag of rice, yam, garri, and all of that.”
After a nationwide strike that grounded business activities, the Union suspended the strike on Tuesday, giving the Government a one-week grace period, which will expire at midnight on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, to act on their demands. Should the government and the National Assembly fail to respond adequately, the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) plan to meet to decide on the resumption of the nationwide industrial action that was temporarily suspended last week.
“The Federal Government and the National Assembly have the call now. It is not our call,” Onyeka said. “Our demand is there for them to look at and send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly, and for the National Assembly to look at what we have demanded, the various facts of the law, and then come up with a National Minimum Act that meets our demands.”
Onyeka warned that if their demands are not met by the end of the grace period, the labour unions are prepared to resume their strike.
“If after tomorrow we have not seen any tangible response from the government, the organs of the Organised Labour will meet to decide on what next.”
When asked what the union’s response would be if the government insists on ₦62,000, Onyeka made it clear:
“We said we are relaxing a nationwide indefinite strike. It’s like putting a pause on it. So, if you put a pause on something and the organs that govern us as trade unions decide that we should remove that pause, it means that we go back to what was in existence before.”
