Labour accuses govs of sabotaging new minimum wage agreement

• Benson Upah, Head of Department of Information NLC, accused some governors of mischief.
• Upah also warned that it’s easier to manage the rage of organised labour than that of Nigerians.

The Organized Labour has accused some governors of ‘throwing spanner in the works’ over an agreement on a new minimum wage.

WITHIN NIGERIA reports that organised labour last Tuesday relaxed its nationwide strike for five days to allow uninterrupted meetings with the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage.

In a meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, and other government officials, the FG stated that it is committed to paying more than N60,000 as the minimum wage.

However, the 36 state governors, under the umbrella of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), have stated that the proposed N60,000 minimum wage is not sustainable and cannot be implemented.

According to the governors, if they sustained the proposed N60,000 minimum wage by the Federal Government, many states would spend all their Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC allocations on just paying salaries, with nothing left for development purposes.

Speaking during an appearance on Arise TV on Monday, Benson Upah, Head of Department of Information NLC, accused some governors of mischief.

He said, “The governors driving this mishchief—we know them, and you can count them on your five fingers. These governors do not mean well, and they are throwing spanners in the works. While the Federal Government has moved slightly to N62,000, they are saying they can even pay N60,000 that was initially proposed, which is an act of mischief, and the numbers are against them.

“It’s a fact that what they share as FAAC has moved from N700b to N1.2trn and is climbing, and the states are very rich now.”

Upah also warned that it’s easier to manage the rage of organised labour than that of Nigerians.

His words: “The issue is not about labour being difficult; we’re talking about something practical, testable, and reasonable. One thing I will say is that the rage of Labour will be easier to manage than the rage of Nigerians, even as we speak for and on behalf of these weak Nigerians.

“However, if they push Nigerians to the point that they have to live the life of a jungle, we’ll all become victims. A time shall come that is not too far away where you have to peep from your window three to four times before you step out of your own room.”