The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has urged the Nigerian government to demonstrate genuine and clear intentions of reaching an amicable and binding agreement with organised labour on the new national minimum wage.....Read The Full Story Here ▶
In a letter addressed to the President Bola Tinubu, ITUC-Africa General Secretary Akhator Joel Odigie expressed concern over the failure of the national negotiating process to determine a new national minimum wage and the government’s refusal to reverse the electricity tariff hike to N65/Kwh.
Our Correspondent reports that the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) had embarked on a strike on Monday to press home their demands, but suspended the action the next day after the Government agreed to reconvene negotiation on the minimum wage
“Mr. President, we urge your government to demonstrate genuine and practical commitment to utilising good conscience and good faith in the negotiation process. We are convinced that a genuine commitment to reconvening the negotiation with the clear intentions of reaching an amicable and binding agreement is possible,” Odigie said in a statement issued from ITUC-Africa Lome office.
ITUC-Africa’s intervention adds pressure on the Nigerian government to address the workers’ demands and resolve the crisis.
The general secretary emphasized that the demands for a new minimum wage and electricity tariff hike reversal are legitimate and urgent, given the growing socioeconomic woes faced by Nigerian workers amidst rising inflation.
Odigie called on the Nigerian government to prioritize citizens’ socioeconomic welfare and well-being, and appealed to the President to intervene to resolve the industrial impasse.
He said further, “We lend our voices to urge your government to graciously consider these requests as we fear that millions of Nigerian workers in the formal and informal economy, including women and the unemployed, will be driven further into endemic poverty. Citizens’ socioeconomic welfare and well-being, besides being some of the benefits of the social contract, are also ready dividends of people’s investment in democracy.”