•Workers protest
In a mixed reaction, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Lagos Council has described the newly upward reviewed National minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants in the country as approved by the federal government as unsustainable for its workers considering the prevailing economic situations in the state.
The state council through its Chairman, however, accused the Governors’ Forum of being responsible for the meager new minimum wage approval following their insistence on paying N50,000 as minimum wage during the negotiating period, reports Vanguard.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had yesterday, approved N70,000 new minimum wage during a meeting with the leadership of the Organised Labour in Abuja.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly is expected to receive an Executive Bill for the approval of a new national minimum wage next Tuesday, July 23, following an agreement between President Tinubu and labour leaders.
The agreement reached at the Aso Presidential Villa, Abuja, establishes a new minimum wage of N70,000 to replace the expired N30,000 minimum wage.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, confirmed that the bill would be delivered to lawmakers to give legal effect to the agreement before implementation.
Reacting to the development, comrade Funmi Sessi, NLC, Lagos council, expressed mixed feelings on the wage, and stressed the need for Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to give special consideration to workers in the state when implementing the new minimum wage.
According to Sessi, “I would like to express a mixed reaction to the newly approved N70,000 minimum wage by the federal government in the sense that we believed, and we know that President Bola Tinubu would have done better than the approved N70,000.
“If not for the reactions of the Governors Forum, where the governors insisted on N50,000, we believe President Tinubu’s approval would have been in the range of N100,000.
“But we still thank God that at the end of the day, we were able to move a little bit forward and achieve. There is an adage that says ‘he who fights and runs away, leave to fight another day’.
She continued, “Though, the N70,000 falls short of our expectations but we still thank God, at least we were able to push a little further than the N62,000 the government was proposing to pay because of the reactions of the governors and private employers as well.
“However, we hope with the N70,000 as a minimum we will still be able to live with living demands.
“We want to use this medium to appeal to government and all the agencies to monitor effectively the market forces because those rendering services and goods, this is the time they will be calculating how to increase the services and goods that they have already increased since last year.
“So, we already have triple of prices of goods and services since last year what we are earning now is the wage to catch up with inflation with the rising costs of goods and services.
“We also appreciate the fact that retirees will also have some added percentage to their stipend, monthly pensions.
“At least 20 per cent from level 1 to 16 and from level 17 to 28 per cent. While, in some instances from level 1 to 14 is 20 per cent and other instances from 15 and above is 28 per cent.
“We in Lagos State, rightly as we know that Lagos is a city, we need to negotiate further with the state government with the state government. Like the rates of transportation, feeding, and others.
“However, Lagos State Government needs to look critically into our own and add Lagos factor to our wages. If Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Edo, Kogi, Imo, states agreed to pay N70,000 as stipulated by law,
“Lagos, Kano, Rivers and Abuja, there will always be that special factor on the allowances received. On the rent allowances, we know how much we pay for a two-bedroom flat or three-bedroom flat in Lagos, annually. For a two-bedroom the minimum you can get is N1 million.
“Even in the suburb of Lagos, you cannot get it. If you are looking for a bedroom apartment with N500, 000 you are not ready to live anywhere in Lagos State. So, there should be a Lagos factor.
“Therefore, we are using this medium to appeal to our good and loving Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, who is always willing to appreciate the good work of workers, alleviating our plights, to consider Lagos factor for workers in the state. N70,000 is definitely not sustainable for Lagos workers. We will continue to negotiate, and dialogue with the government until what we feel is the best is achieved.”
