By Ken Chiwendu
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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have insisted on embarking on strike from Monday June 3 despite calls by the Federal Government and the National Assembly on the unions to halt, the action.
On Sunday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale said that N500,000 demand by Labour for a new National Minimum wage would have severe consequences on the nation’s economy.
Ngelale who spoke on TVC’s Politics on Sunday night said while President Bola Tinubu loves the people and believes that they deserve the best,he “recognises that there are economic realities and fundamentals within the country right now that do not support what the organised Labour movement is advocating for and I want to be very clear this evening about what the consequences would be if organise Labour had its way.
“Right now there is this notion out there that the minimum wage conversation in the country is simply almost a conversation between a federal executive administration and organized Labour about a new minimum wage for the federal civil service. That is not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about a new national minimum wage for every Nigerian citizen, both within the formal economy as well as the informal economy.
“This has ramifications. Essentially, we’re moving from the current minimum wage where it is to, if Labour got its way, something north of N500,000 per month, you’re looking at almost 20 times, right?
“So the impact that would now have on the citizens of the country, we’re not talking about government now, we’re talking about our people, is, I want to be practical about this, if you’re thinking of the mom and pop shop that is dealing in chinchin and bakery and these kinds of goods and services.
“The idea that you are going to mandate them to 20 times whatever it is they’re paying their staff within that small business, you know that you are essentially mandating the closure of that business and you are literally, indirectly sacking the entire set of people who happen to be working there because that business is closing because they cannot live up to the minimum wages that organized Labour is asking for.
“I’ll be even more practical about this, aside from massive job loss across sectors, across our nation, at a time when we are looking for new job opportunities for the teeming youth population in the country.
“You’re also talking about private schools, for example, where you are now going to be mandating for not just teachers, but janitors, cooks and the like, a 20-times increase in the wages they will have to pay.
“What that will now mean is that if those schools don’t just close or if they don’t have to go into a massive retrenchment exercise, what it will also mean is for the Nigerian citizen right now, who is currently grappling with what we all agree is an unsustainably low minimum wage as it is today.
“He or she is now going to be grappling with school fees that are 10 times plus what they presently are today, not to talk of the price of food items, not to talk of the price of so many other goods and commodities that our people, even if they’re in a struggling state, can kind of try and afford, it now becomes totally unsustainable.
“So these are, I think, some of the real pragmatic assessments that need to be made public so that everyone understands that this is not just a matter of government not wanting to bulge or government wanting to maintain as much of its revenues as possible. No, we’re talking about an existential issue to the Nigerian economy and it should be treated as such.”
Meanwhile, Aviation unions have directed members to withdraw services across airports in Nigeria
The directive which is in compliance with the indefinite strike declared by the organised Labour would take effect by 12:00 am on Monday,June 3.
A joint statement by officials of National Union of Air Transport Employees ( NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals ( ANAP) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers ( NAAPE) has asked all members nationwide to comply.
The Unions however said that the strike action would commence at international terminals on 4th of June because ” many international flights to Nigeria are already airborne.
In the same development, the organised Labour said while it plans to discuss the appeal made by the leadership of the National Assembly to suspend the strike action, its members will proceed with the strike action as scheduled
Members of the National Assembly in a last minute effort to stop the strike action on Sunday, met with Leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress NLC and the Trade Union Congress TUC
But the meeting ended with no progress made.
The organized labour said its decision stands despite last-minute efforts by the National Assembly leadership to prevent a potential economic shutdown by the unions.
The unions said that they will meet and discuss the appeal made by the leadership of the National Assembly in need to suspend the proposed strike and allow for more dialogue with its organs before taking a decision
