Organized Labour has tendered a new minimum wage of N56,000 to the Federal Government ahead of Sunday’s May Day celebration.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja, said although labour was aware of the downturn in the economy, the laws of the land stipulates that minimum wage must be looked into every five years.
Wabba said: “I can say authoritatively that as at yesterday, we presented N56,000 as minimum wage to government. That demand was submitted officially to the Federal Government. And we hope that the tripartite system to look at the review will be put in place.
“Our argument is that, yes, it’s true that the economy is not doing well, but the law is also clear that the issue must be looked into. And workers should not be seen to be sleeping on their rights.
“These are processes, but when we come to the roundtable, we can then see the best way out. But I think it is obvious that since it is a product of law, it is usually required that the tripartite process be put in place so that we can look at the issues.
“It is obvious that workers have not fared well in the last one year. But we will not continue to lament. What we try to do is to work out a process of engagement on how those issues can be addressed.”
