State chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have decried the condition of the Nigerian worker and called for the urgent review of the N70,000 minimum wage as the country celebrates the 2025 May Day today
This comes just as Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said the legislative and executive arms of government would not “shirk our responsibility to work together” to address workers’ concerns and create opportunities for growth and prosperity.
However, organised labour leaders across the country said workers were worse off since the emergence of President Bola Tinubu, despite his assurances that he would not only pay the workers a minimum wage but “a living wage.”
Following Tinubu’s removal of the petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023, in his inaugural speech to the nation and the devaluation of the naira, the cost of living has been astronomic, forcing labour unions and the populace to embark on several protests.
The labour leaders, in separate interviews with The Punch, said the Nigerian worker had been crippled by the high cost of prices and soaring inflation, which they added, made the N70,000 minimum wage inconsequential.
The Bayelsa State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Comrade Julius Laye, said the Nigerian worker was worse off under the President Bola Tinubu administration than ever before.
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A review is necessary