President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, on Tuesday, criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for its indifference to Nigerians’ struggles.
Osifo disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He revealed that organized labour had rejected the Federal Government’s offer of a N60,000 minimum wage, labelling the government as unserious about addressing the issue.
“From what is happening, one can conclude they are being nonchalant. The president has promised to give a living wage, and today we are discussing a minimum wage of N60,000. I think we are far away from it. If you say the government is calm, we quite agree,” he said.
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According to him, during the last meeting, it became clear that the government was not serious about the negotiations.
“They are not yet serious with these conversations,” he added.
Osifo also recounted how the government failed to engage with the TUC until an injunction was issued on May 1.
He said: “If you remember, May 1, we issued an ultimatum that if there is no minimum wage in place, we could no longer guarantee industrial peace. Do you know that before May 1, they did not even invite us for a meeting until that injunction was issued?”
A serious government, he noted, would have prioritized the minimum wage issue to alleviate the people’s difficulties.
“Government must be serious in bringing about a new minimum wage,” he concluded.
