NLC, TUC Demand N500,000 As New Minimum Wage

The leaderships of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, have demanded a sum of five hundred thousand (N500,000) from the Federal government as the minimum wage to be paid to Nigerian Workers.

National Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress and President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Audu Titus Amba, made the demand at the Nigeria Rights Of Workers Summit held yesterday in Birnin Kebbi, the capital of Kebbi State.

Comrade Amba, who represented the National President of NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, noted that the time frame for the last increment of seventy thousand naira, as negotiated between the Labour Union and the federal government, lapsed in July.

“So we want to enter into another negotiation with the federal government to request at least N500,000 to be paid to the nation’s workers as the new minimum wage,” Amba said.

He emphasised that, in the current situation, any Minimum wage below N500,000 would fail to meet workers’ needs due to the socioeconomic hardships facing civil servants in the country.

The NLC President, however, stressed that the unions are not in confrontation with the federal government but want to realign for a new negotiation to review the Minimum wage in the workers’ plight.

Comrade Amba commended Governor Nasir Idris for providing an enabling environment for the Summit, which drew about 1,000 delegates.

He added that participants discussed issues affecting workers and trade union leadership across the country as a way forward.

Declaring the Summit open, Governor Nasir Idris reminded the Union that he was the first governor to implement N75,000 as the Minimum wage for his workers in the country.

He promised to champion the unions’ new demands at one of the Governor’s Forum meetings.