By The New Diplomat Political Desk
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured organised labour that his administration is committed to improving the welfare of Nigerian workers.
The President said he would not only approve a credible new minimum wage but also implement policies that would improve the total welfare of Nigerian workers.
Tinubu stated this while speaking with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) led by Joe Ajaero and that of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) led by Comrade Festus Osifo, on Thursday in Abuja.
The Ajaero and Osifo led their respective teams to the crucial talks. This meeting follows recent developments where a Tripartite Committee on the new national minimum wage reportedly submitted two conflicting figures to the President.
The organised private sector and government team had proposed N62,000, while labour unions made a demand of N250,000.
Addressing the leadership of organised labour, Tinubu said: “I pay attention to everything around me. A happy worker is a productive worker. And society depends on the productivity of the happy worker.
“You have to cut your coat according to the available cloth. Before we can finalize the minimum wage process, we have to look at the structure.
“Why must we adjust wages every five years? Why not two? Why not three years? What is a problem today, can be eased up tomorrow. There is much dynamism to this process if we are not myopic in our approaches. We can take a surgical approach that is based on pragmatism and a deep understanding of all factors.”
In his remarks, Ajaero, emphasised the need for an upward adjustment of the minimum wage, noting: “Between living wage and minimum wage, we need to find a balance. Things are difficult for the Nigerian worker.”
He congratulated the President on the judgement of the Supreme Court affirming the constitutional rights of local governments as regards financial autonomy and other salient principles.
“I have to congratulate you on the issue of local government autonomy. We have been in the streets protesting for local government autonomy. Now that there is light at the end of the tunnel, it will amount to ungratefulness if we fail to commend you,” the NLC President said.
The TUC President, Osifo maintained that inflation has adversely affected the value of the naira and that the measures initiated by the government to address the rising cost of food and transportation need to kick off speedily to give citizens relief.
He said the rollout of Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses will help in checking the high cost of transportation, while the recent directive on the suspension of duty on certain food imports will bring down the prices of food items if properly implemented.
“We commend you on the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court. History will not forget what has happened today. With this judgement, we believe Nigeria will make progress,” the TUC President said.
