Minimum wage: Labour union issues 21-day ultimatum to Buhari

Workers under the umbrella of All Workers Convergence (AWC) on Monday issued a 21-day ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari to make pronouncement on the September date of new minimum wage.

The workers while addressing a press conference at the conference room of Federal Secretariat Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, condemned a statement credited to the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige, that the Federal government may not pay a new minimum wage in September as earlier promised.
They threatened that failure to reassure workers within 21 would lead to a nationwide strike.

National Coordinator of All Workers Convergence (AWC), Comrade Andrew Emelieze while addressing journalists lamented that, “This to us confirms that our government is insensitive to the plight of the workers, that government is very far from the people and equally uncaring and callous.
“We call on President Buhari to personally announce and reassure the Nigeria workers that September promise is still feasible and failure to do so in the next twenty one days, Nigeria workers shall be compelled to embark on a one-day nationwide warning strike come 2nd July 2018.
“That, we agree with the demands of the NLC and the TUC over the proposed amount for the new minimum wage which is not different from our earlier formula, that one percent of the President’s salary be used as the new minimum wage, while half percent of the President’s salary be used as minimum pension.

“We agreed also with the position of the NLC/TUC that the new minimum wage takes effect from 1st August 2018.
“That the government should set up a social security fund to generate unemployment benefits to the unemployed and destitute derived from one percent of workers’ salary.
“That all outstanding backlog of workers’ salaries, allowances, gratuities and pensions be paid latest 31st August 2018”.
Emelize further warned the Ngige to mind what he called unilateral pronucements calpable of endangering the lives of workers in the country.
He said, “We also like to state that the Minster of Labour be cautioned as his unilateral pronouncements is endangering the lives of Labour leaders as it tends to paints us badly before our members.
“On the issues of general insecurity in the hand, our major pains is the daily and mindless killings by cattle herders in the northern part of Nigeria, ritual killings across the federation and many more horrible situations”.