TUC urges FG to fast-track minimum wage, says no hope of pay rise in May

By AKOR SYLVESTER-Abuja

The committee set up by federal government on new minimum wage has been urged to fast track the process of coming out with new minimum to reduce the suffering slammed on Nigerian workers and Nigerians as a result of the hike in prices of goods and services in the country accasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.

President of TUC, Festus Osifo who fielded questions from newsmen at the National Executive Council (NEC) of union in Abuja yesterday expressed worry on the non completion of negotiations on a new minimum wage, urging the Federal Government to fastrack action on it.

He said with the slow space of the minimum wage negotiation, the Nigerian workers would not be expecting the new minimum wage even in the month of May 2023.

The TUC president, also lamented that some states in the Niger Delta region that collect huge sums of money from the Federation Account, have not paid neither the wage awards nor palliatives to their workers, accusing Delta, Imo, Benue as the worst culprits.

Osifo expreesed dissatisfaction that the Federal Government has not paid federal workers the wage award for the months of March and April this year and called for the immediate payment of the wage award to cushion the economic hardship.

He said, “The NEC in session discussed the issues of minimum wage and that government has to do everything possible to ensure that this is fast tracked because the only way you can inflate your economy is when you empower the working class. The only way you can inflate your economy is when people have money to purchase goods in the supermarket, when people have money to go to the regular market to purchase items. If there is no money to purchase these items, if the purchasing power parity is relatively low, what is going to happen?