By Stanley Nwanosike
Enugu – The Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) a pan-Igbo Socio-Cultural group, has urged the organised labour to insist on N30,000 across board as agreed by the Ama Pepple Tripartite Committee.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the National Council of State, on Tuesday endorsed N27, 000 as new National Minimum Wage, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed.
Ngige, however, stated that the Federal Government had resolved to pay its workers N30,000 as the new national minimum as demanded by organised labour; while the state governments were free to negotiate with their workers.
The minister made this known when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the Council’s meeting, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President of NUF, Comrade Augustine Chukwudum, told NAN in Enugu that the N30, 000 minimum wage should be for all classes of workers irrespective of the employer.
Chukwudum said that the organised labour should not allow government transmit the bill on the new minimum wage of N27, 000; but N30,000 across board to the National Assembly.
“What we are debating about N30, 000 is not even sufficient, especially going by the current economic realities in the country.
“Both Federal workers, state workers and workers of the private sector go to the same market.
“In the market, prices of goods do not know who is a federal or state worker,” he said.
According to him, the organised labour should not relax because there is a battle of `relative parity of wages’ to be fought.
“If not, we are creating a financial lacunar and poverty at the state level,” he said.
On whether the state can pay and sustain continuous N30, 000, Chukwudum said that states in the country were rich but bedeviled by corruption.
“The quantum of money being stolen even at the state level is quite alarming, let alone the large political appointments and patronages in the various states,” he said.
He, however, advised state governments to look inward to improve their Internally Generated Revenue, check unnecessary appointments; as well as financial leakages.
NAN recalls that the organised labour had insisted on a N30, 000 minimum wage as proposed by the Ama Pepple tripartite committee, while the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) earlier proposed N24, 000. (NAN)