Leadership of Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Monday disclosed plan to negotiate N52,000 national minimum wage.
This was contained in a statement issued ahead of the National Administrative Council (NAC), Central Working Committee (CWC) and National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for December 10 and 11.
Other issues to be discussed by the Congress include: corruption, the $2.1 billion arms deal, proposed return of tollgates, incessant fuel scarcity, N2.7 billion set aside for the board members of National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), among others.
Bobboi Kaigama, TUC president, and Musa Lawal, TUC secretary general, in a statement obtained by BusinessDay, disclosed that “the Congress has concluded plans to engage government in dialogue towards increasing the minimum wage to N52,000.”
The duo, who kicked against state governors recent opposition against the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage, however warned that “proper management of the issues by the government would guarantee sustenance of industrial peace in 2016 and beyond.
“They cannot use our collective wealth on their electioneering campaigns, payment of their children’s school fees abroad, foreign medical tourism, etc. only to come tell us they cannot pay salaries because the price of oil has dropped. They are not serious,” the statement said.
The Congress’ chieftains also described the claim by some governors that N18,000 minimum wage was imposed on them when oil sold for $126 as against the present price of $41 per barrel and that they cannot pay it, as nonsense.
They however noted that governors’ resistance was “occasioned by unbridled corruption and mismanagement of public funds by the governors themselves,” and reiterated that “the minimum wage was a product of tripartite meetings involving government at all levels, employers (through Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), and organised labour.”
While expressing support for the ongoing anti-corruption campaign, the Congress urged the Federal Government to extend the searchlight beamed on the arms deal scam “to board members of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) who served for only five years and have set aside N2.7 billion for themselves, whereas they offered us nothing but a privatisation exercise that has produced nothing but darkness.
“Lastly, we affirm that Nigeria has enough money to maintain its roads; we do not need tollgates that’s will only end up making the so-called big boys richer at the expense of everyone else.”
