SAN FRANCISCO, January 02, (THEWILL) – The United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC), a faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has insisted on N96, 000 minimum wage for all workers.
ULC, in a statement by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said it would engage the government at various levels to generate appropriate policies and programmes that would cushion workers’ suffering and hardship and get an upward review of the national minimum wage to N96,000 per month, which it said was long overdue.
“We shall seek greater coverage of the minimum wage to include all Nigerian workers whether working in the formal or informal sectors,” the statement read.
“In this light, we shall work towards designing a wage floor that would be automatically self-adjusting just like it is done in other advanced nations of the world.
“In the U.S, just yesterday (Sunday), the minimum wage automatically went upwards from $8.00 per hour to U$11.00 per hour.
“This is a national increase of about 37.5 per cent in a nation with declining inflation and low cost of living.
“Unilateral sacks and illegal retrenchment will be tackled head-on, while the use of casual and contract work will be seriously tackled to create a Nigerian workplace that is compliant with the Decent Work Agenda.
“We, therefore, give notice to the banks, telecommunication companies and other employers that have taken delight in abusing and violating the rights and privileges of workers in Nigeria through their flagrant disregard of our labour and trade union laws.
“We shall pursue in conjunction with the relevant agencies of government the compliance of our workplaces with the laws of Nigeria and the relevant international standards.”
Story by Oputah David
