Fix Realistic Living Wage Not Minimum Wage- Reps Tell FG

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Wednesday, June 5th, 2024

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to redirect the focus of its negotiation with labour, from fixing a minimum wage, to fixing a realistic living wage in line with current market realities.

The motion was moved during a session at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

The Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, urged his colleagues to speedily amend the minimum wage bill as it did with the national anthem, adding that if President Bola Tinubu refuses to accede to it, he should be overrided by the National Assembly.

The lawmakers also condemned members of the Labour Congress, for shutting down the national grid during their nationwide industrial strike on Monday.

The duo of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), had thrown the country into hours of darkness, as they protested over the N60,000 being offered by the Federal Government.

A statement by the spokesperson for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Ndidi Mbah, said operators of the national grid were forcefully kicked out and beaten by the aggrieved union members, before turning off the grid in protest.

Responding to the development after the strike was called off on Tuesday, the lawmakers said labour unions had gone too far by shutting down the national grid, and alleged that lives were lost due to that action.

They urged the federal government to redirect the focus of its negotiation with labour, from fixing a minimum wage, to fixing a realistic living wage in line with current market realities.

The Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, drew attention to the Trade Dispute Act, which restricts labour unions from shutting down certain sectors during an industrial action.

They also called on the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to carry out a downward review of the electricity tariff.