AS the organised labour in the country and the federal government failed to agree on the new minimum wage payable to the public workers in the country, members of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other workers unions, in Osun on Tuesday embarked on solidarity protest to push for the payment of N30,000 minimum wage.
Though the demonstration was peaceful with policemen providing effective security cover, the protesters, who converged on the popular Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, the state capital around 9.15 am moved to Olaiya junction and later marched to Oke-Fia roundabout.
They stated that their protest was in compliance with the directives from the national body of the labour movement in the country to sensitise the public on the need on the part of the government to pay N30,000 minimum wage to public workers in Nigeria.
Speaking on the sideline of the protest, the Osun State chairman of the TUC, Comrade Adebowale Adekola argued that the position of the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige that the tripartite meeting between the labour and government on the payment of N30,000 minimum wage to workers was inconclusive should be disregarded.
According to him: “We just converge today to sensitise our people about the reasons for us not to collect nothing less than N30,000. We are also against the issue of ‘no work, no pay’ policy of the government. We are totally against it because it is contrary to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) regulation and Nigeria is a member of ILO.”
Adekola continued: “What the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige is saying about that the tripartite meeting is not concluded is not true. The negotiation has been concluded, what is remaining is for the committee to submit its report to Mr President onward to the National Assembly. His position was false in totality.”