The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in the South-south region has put forward N850,000 as the proposed new minimum wage for workers across the nation.
Sunny James, the chairperson of NLC in Akwa Ibom, revealed the region’s stance during a public hearing on the new wage structure held on Tuesday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Expressing dissatisfaction, James highlighted that some states in the region have yet to implement the current N30,000 minimum wage, last reviewed in 2019, though he did not specify the affected states.
James questioned how state governments in the region, which allocate more funds for running the government than other sectors of the economy, could not afford to pay a minimum wage.
As a consequence for non-compliance, James advocated for the impeachment and imprisonment of governors who neglect the payment of minimum wage.
“The Nigerian worker is calling for a decent work environment and living wage that is commensurate to their labour,” James emphasized.
He lamented the prevailing “anger and hunger” in the nation since President Bola Tinubu announced an end to fuel subsidy in his inaugural address in May last year.
James urged Tinubu to facilitate a conducive business environment by ensuring power supply, repairing refineries, and constructing new modular refineries.
Commotion Ensues
The atmosphere at the Ibom Hall, the venue of the public hearing, turned tense during a presentation by Kingsley Bassey, the chairperson of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state.
Bassey faced backlash for proposing a minimum wage of N447,000, contrasting with the N850,000 earlier proposed by the NLC.
Chaos erupted as labour members rejected pleas from the master of the ceremony to allow Bassey to complete his presentation.
It took the intervention of Ekpo Nta, the secretary of the Federal Government Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee and former chairperson of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, to restore order and allow Bassey to continue.
Nta appealed for equal opportunities for all participants to speak, assuring that harmonization would be conducted in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
In January, President Tinubu inaugurated a 37-man national minimum wage committee tasked with recommending a new minimum wage for the country.
The committee is conducting public hearings simultaneously in all six geopolitical zones today to gather public input on a new minimum wage structure.
According to existing laws, the minimum wage in the country is subject to review every five years. Labour leaders anticipate the implementation of the new minimum wage to commence in April this year.
