Minimum wage: Tension as labour announces new strike plan, see details

• The NLC has threatened to embark on a one-month strike over an alleged plan to decentralise minimum wage negotiation
• Joe Ajaero, the president of the NLC, raised the alarm on Tuesday, July 16, adding that the move violates the concepts of equity embedded in the Nigerian constitution
• According to Ajaero, the move to remove the minimum wage from the exclusive list of the federal government to the concurrent list to allow governors to negotiate minimum wage would lead to slave wage

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has disclosed plans to embark on a one-month nationwide strike and protest over plans to decentralise the negotiation on a new minimum wage.

The union raised the alarm amid ongoing new minimum wage negotiation involving the federal government, organised labour and organised private sector.

NLC president Joe Ajaero spoke at the 67th Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association Annual General Meeting in Lagos. He opposed plans to remove the national minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list and move it to the concurrent list, allowing state governors to determine wages.

NLC announces plan to embark on one-month strike over minimum wage decentralisation Photo Credit: @NLCHeadquarters, @HouseNGR
Source: Twitter

Why governors should not negotiate minimum wage

According to The Punch, Ajaero argued that if approved, the move would lead to a "slave wage" and force poverty on citizens.

He also said the constitution provides for equal work for equal pay and that decentralising wages would be against the concept of equity and equality before the law.

The NLC is adamant that it will not accept any situation where governors and National Assembly members impose a wage that would harm workers. Ajaero warned that if such a law is passed, there will be no movement in the country for a month.

The latest threat from the NLC is coming barely 48 hours before President Bola Tinubu's scheduled meeting with organised labour leadership to decide on the new minimum wage.

Ondo: LP candidate promises N200k minimum wage

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Labour Party governorship candidate in Ondo state, Ayodele Olorpledgedhas, pledged to implement N120,000 minimum wage if elected.

Olorunfemi said the decision to implement N120,000 as the minimum wage in the state was to increase workers' productivity.

Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng