Workers would like living wage, Not minimum wage, Labor Leaders Say

Labor leaders on Sunday expressed optimism that the federal government would offer employees a living wage not minimum wage.

President Muhammdu Buhari on Thursday approved the appointment of a 30-member tripartite National minimum wage Committee for the negotiation of a brand new National minimum wage.

The labor leaders, who are members of the committee, spoke to the news agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos ahead of the committee inauguration scheduled for Monday in Abuja.

The committee is formed up of persons from the general public sector (federal and state governments) and the private sector (members of the Nigeria Employers’ consultative Association (NECA)

Mr. Ayuba Wabba, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), told NAN that “our expectation is that the demand of labor are met.

“We can seek advice from open mind to confirm that we tend to come through our aims and objectives,” Wabba same.

He said that the meeting with the trilateral committee would be a social dialogue and negotiation discussion.

According to him, the inauguration is long overdue and effort would be created to fast track negotiations to ensure that employees and pensioners get their accumulated benefits.

He said that labor would discuss problems about rate of naira as a result of the present rate of exchange had redoubled from the time N56,000 was being proposed by labour.

Mr. Peter Ozo-Eson, NLC General Secretary, also said that the committee would discuss several issues affecting the minimum wage and also the way forward.

According to Ozo-Eson, it’s over 2 years since organized labor proposed N56,000 as minimum wage to the government; and then can consider variety of socio-economic indices to take its action.

He said that organized labor was looking forward to the inauguration because the committee was made up of a tripartite group that may discuss issues affecting the Nigerian employees.

“We expect to the inauguration which i believe can discuss the facts and economic realities once it starts negotiation.”