Coalition of labour and civil society organisations on Tuesday called on the Minimum Executive to immediately transmit the N30,000 National Minimum Wage bill to the National Assembly.
To this end, the leaders of the trade Union centres who spoke during the nationwide protest held across the country, threatened not to issue another notice before embarking on a nationwide strike.
Ayuba Wabba, President Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) who spoke on behalf of the coalition gave the charge during the nationwide protest rally held in Abuja.
Some of the placards displayed by the protesters read: ‘Minimum Wage is not Negotiable, it is our right’; ‘Give us our new minimum wage now’; ‘Upward review of minimum wage will not trigger inflation’; ‘Minimum Wage is willingness to pay and not ability to pay is the challenge’; ‘Minimium Wage will boost Nigeria economy’; and several others.
Wabba said the protest rally served as a warning to the Federal Government before a nationwide strike if government continued to delay the transmission of the minimum wage bill to the National Assembly.
According to Wabba, “workers welfare and well-being must be paramount, that’s why we say this rally must take place across the length and breadth of the country.
“Today in every government house in Nigeria protest is being transmited to all our political leaders, governors at the state levels and here we are in the office of the Minister of the FCT, which also like the governor.
“We want to say that workers are very central to economic development and very central to the prosperity of any country and therefore we can not be described as the tiny minority.
“Workers are very productive, we built the Nigerian economy,we fight for democracy, rule of law and good governance and there is no way we can be described as tiny minority, as we service the entire country.
“So workers must be able to take care of their family, sent their children to school, but today workers are not able to feed three times a day or send their children to school.
“Because minimum wage of N18,000 is no longer obtainable and no longer realistic and can not take care of workers needs and this is the reality,” the NLC President observed.
He also noted that workers have been have being patience and more considerate throughout the one year negotiation that agreed on the N30,000.
He added that, therefore we have agreed on the negotiation table which took us up to one year negotiating and we also look at all issues and we agreed on the N30,000.
Wabba also said that Nigeria has the best and largest economy in Africa and South Africa was only second to it.
“South Africa are paying N120,000 as their minimum wage and non of their political elite complained and they have been able to delivered and likewise Ghana, that is why their economy is prospering.
“So, if we have a pool of the working poor, there is no way the economy can do better.
“We are here to submit our letter of protest and demand like our states councils are doing in their various state right now, to the FCT Minister for onward transmission to Mr President.
“We want to call on Mr President for the onward transmission of the bill to the National Assembly as the protest rally served as a warning before a nationwide strike,” he said.
In his remarks, Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna Central expressed support for the struggle for the new national minimum wage for workers in the country.
Also speaking, Amechi Asugwah, President Construction, Wood Workers Union of Nigeria decried attitude of government towards the implementilation of the national minimum wage.
“I want to say that workers have waited more than enough, and we are running out of patience, and as a matter of fact, we do need to serve another notice before embarking on a nationwide strike.
“We have decided to take strong action to drive the issue of the minimum wage as it concerns workers in the country, “he added.
While responding, Lazarus Gaza, Head of Human Resources in the FCTA, while receiving the protest letter from the NLC President assured all that the letter would be delivered accordingly.
