Cmrd. Joe Ajaero, NLC president.
The organised labour will not go on strike on Tuesday regarding the current new minimum wage dispute with the Federal Government, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), declared on Monday. Joe Ajaero, NLC president made this disclosure just as he adduced reason for the decision.
He said labour would not go on strike yet because the figures were already on the table of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and a feedback was being expected.
The NLC president made the decision known while speaking on Monday at the International Labour Conference taking place in Geneva, Switzerland.
Citing examples of previous administrations, Ajaero said it was still possible for the President to increase the proposed figure before him.
However, he called out Governors who had declared they could not pay the proposed N62,000 new minimum wage, which is currently what the Federal Government is offering, and labelled them as lazy.
Said he: “We cannot declare strike now because the figures are with the President.
“During the tenure of the immediate past President, the figure that was proposed to him was N27,000 by the tripartite committee but he increased it to N30,000. We are hopeful that this President will do the right thing. The President had noted that the difference between N62,000 and N250,000 is a wide gulf.
“How can any governor say he cannot pay? They cannot also be calling for the decentralisation of the minimum wage.
“Are there wages decentralised? Governors whose states are not contributing a dime to the national purse and who generate pitiable Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) are collecting the same amount as governors whose states are generating billions of dollars into the FAAC.
“They should decentralise their salaries and emoluments first.
“So, where is the governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, getting his money from? He is paying N70,000 minimum wage. This is the type of governor that should be emulated and not the lazy ones”.
