Minimum wage dispute: Why Tinubu should accept labour's demand, NLC speaks

• Organised labour has faulted President Tinubu's statement regarding the payment of the new minimum wage
• The NLC led by Joe Ajaero tackled Tinubu for saying he would pay Nigerian workers what his government can afford
• The spokesperson of the NLC, Benson Upah, reacted to the president's statement and explained what his government should do regarding the wage dispute

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has maintained that the federal government must accede to its demands on minimum wage, given the country's practical realities.

President Tinubu and NLC chairman, Joe Ajaero. Photo credit: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria Labour Congress HQ
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NLC reacts to Tinubu's stance on minimum wage

Joe Ajaero's led NLC disclosed this while reacting to a statement by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during a meeting with some governors and members of the National Assembly on the occasion of the nation’s 25th Democracy Day anniversary.

Recall that President Tinubu had said that the government would only be able to pay its workers what the country can afford.

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“Senate president, deputy senate president, you will get a notice from me if I have changed my mind on minimum wage. We are going to do it — what Nigeria can afford, what you can afford, what I can afford. They ask you to cut your coat according to your size if you have size at all,” Tinubu had said.

NLC reminds Tinubu of living wage promise, payment

But in his reaction, the spokesperson of the NLC, Benson Upah, in an interview with The Punch published on Sunday, June 16, faulted Tinubu's statement and described the statement as a contradiction of his promise to pay a living wage.

“This will be in breach of his promise to pay a living wage which is superior to a minimum wage. Moreover, there is unanimity of opinion that government accede to the demand of Labour based on practical realities,” he stated.

Disagreements between the government, labour, and the Organised Private Sector (OPDS) have continued to brew over the new minimum wage.

But President Tinubu's decision on the minimum wage report will determine labour's next action as the federal government offered to pay workers N62,000.

Minimum wage: Zamfara govt commences payment

Legit.ng earlier reported that Zamfara state government has announced the commencement of N30,000 minimum wage payment to civil servants.

The governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, said the N30,000 minimum wage is an increase from N7,000.

He added that Zamfara state has commenced payment of June salary to workers from the 12th, ahead of the Eid-ul-Adha celebration.

Source: Legit.ng