Politics

FG must sack 90% of workers to pay N494,000 minimum wage, Onokpasa schools Labour

A lawyer, Jesutega Onokpasa has told the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) that for the Federal Government to pay N494,000 minimum wage, it must sack 90 per cent of civil servants.

Onokpasa in an appeal letter to NLC and TUC informed the organised labour that if their demands were to be implemented, then they should also be ready to pay their gardeners and cleaners N494,000 monthly.

This is an appeal and an admonition to both Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo of the Nigerian Labour movement; Joe Ajaero of the NLC, Festus Osifo of the TUC.

But, above all, and more importantly, it is an address to Nigerian workers. I think the two union leaders don’t understand unionism – trade unionism. It is not about strike; it is about protecting worker’s rights, and strike action is the very last resort.

“If Joe Ajaero does not know maths, is the NLC so bereft of intellect or there is nobody there that can just crunch numbers and know that such amounts are utterly absurd?

“What is President Tinubu supposed to do? Sack 90 per cent of workers so that he can pay 10 per cent N600,000 a month? What are the governors supposed to do? Sack 90 per cent of their workers so that they can pay such absurd amounts?

“Suppose Bola Tinubu says he was going to pay N400,000, N500,000 N600,000, a month as minimum wage, it means your domestic worker, your driver, your house girl, your gardener and housekeeper, you will be paying them that amount.

While maintaining that Nigerian workers deserve better pay, the lawyer said that the whole idea of minimum wage is not even the idea of labour unions, but President Tinubu’s idea.

He reminded the organised Labour that elections were over and their candidate was defeated by President Tinubu.

“We have a President and that’s the President God has given us. It is President Tinubu, he is your president, he is my president, he is our president, he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria whether you like it or not. 2027, regroup, and let us slug it out again.

Now, if we are going to get a better deal for Nigerian workers, it is through negotiation and you obviously do not know how to negotiate. Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo don’t know how to negotiate,” he added.

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