The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has explained why the N48,000 proposed by the Federal Government as the new minimum wage is abysmal.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, TUC President Festus Osifo blasted the proposal and berated the government for not being serious in negotiations with the workers.
According to Osifo, the lowest-paid federal workers already earn up to N77,000, so proposing N48,000 at the moment is “abysmal”.
“Before President Muhammadu Buhari left office, the lowest-paid person in the federal ministry was actually earning N42,000.
“If you now factor in the N35,000 wage award that was given, N42,000 plus N35,000 will give us N77,000. So, as of today, the least a federal government worker earns is N77,000.
“So, the question we now ask is, if the lowest-paid federal government worker is earning N77,000, why are you now presenting N48,000? It just does not make any sense,” Osifo said.
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The TUC leader challenged the Federal Government to provide data backing the N48,000 proposal and convince union members how that amount can sustain the average Nigerian worker.
Earlier on Wednesday, the labor unions walked out of the ongoing minimum wage negotiations with the government and the Organised Private Sector, citing a ridiculous offer by the government.
Osifo said that at the meeting, the labor unions proposed a N615,000 minimum wage and provided a breakdown of how it was arrived at.
He added that the government, on its part, presented N48,000 with no breakdown of how it can cater to the needs of Nigerian workers.
Failure to back the N48,000 proposal with data shows unpreparedness on the part of the government, which is why union leaders walked out of the meeting, according to Osifo.
He stated that union members still maintain that all conversations around a new national minimum wage must be concluded by the end of May.
