Minimum wage protest: Dust off and implement tripartite committee report

WORKERS in Oyo State, on the platform of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), joined their colleagues across the country on a nationwide protest to demand the implementation of N30,000 as new National Minimum wage.

Led by Oyo NLC Chairman, Mr Waheed Olojede and his TUC counterpart, Mr Emmanuel Ogundiran, the workers noted that processions were largely unnecessary due to the fact that states and federal government, labour and organised private sector had reached a compromise figure of N30,000.

Olojede, who spoke on the workers’ behalf, uplifted the imperativeness of political will the federal and state governments to revitalize and implement the report of the tripartite committee.

Particularly, he urged the state government to affirm its pacesetter status by being among the first states in the country to implement the N30,000 minimum wage.

Some the placards displayed by the workers during the procession from NLC Secretariat to State Secretariat bore inscriptions such as, “Workers are not Slaves”, “On N30,000 New Minimum wage we stand”, “Decent Minimum Wage is a right, not a privilege”, “Workers deserve the best, do it now.”

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Upon receiving the letter of organised labour listing their demand, deputy governor of the state, Mr Moses Adeyemo avowed that governors were sympathetic and acknowledge that the current minimum wage of N18,000 is inadequate.

He expressed optimism that governors will see to the increment of the minimum wage this year, though he noted that the capability of state governments to pay differed.

“Bearing the current economic condition, it is not too much for an average Nigerian to request N30,000 as minimum wage. The governors are sympathetic and acknowledge that N18,000 may be inadequate. So, I believe that the governors will ensure that workers smile this year, however, we must also acknowledge that all fingers are not equal,” Adeyemo said.