I’m still committed to realistic Minimum Wage, says Tinubu

As a fallout from the consultative meeting between the president and labour leaders on Thursday, Tinubu has insisted that Nigerian workers de­serve improved welfare, better wages, as well as safe and enhanced working conditions as the driving force of the nation.

He gave the assurance during a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) led by Comrade Joe Ajaero and that of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) led by Comrade Festus Osifo.

The president said he is concerned about the welfare of Nigerian workers and that his administration is priori­tising their concerns.

“I pay attention to everything around me. A happy worker is a pro­ductive worker. And society depends on the productivity of the happy work­er,” the president said.

However, the president called for realistic expectations as regards the minimum wage question, stating: “You have to cut your coat according to available cloth. Before we can finalise on the minimum wage process, we have to look at the structure.

“Why must we adjust wages every five years? Why not two? Why not three years? What is a problem today, can be eased up tomorrow. There is much dynamism to this process if we are not myopic in our ap­proaches. We can take a sur­gical approach that is based on pragmatism and a deep understanding of all factors.”

In his remarks, the NLC President, Comrade Ajaero, emphasised the need for an upward adjustment to the minimum wage, noting: “Be­tween living wage and mini­mum wage, we need to find a balance. Things are difficult for the Nigerian worker.”

He congratulated the president on the judgment of the Supreme Court affirming the constitution­al rights of local governments as regards financial autonomy and other salient principles.

“I have to congratulate you on the issue of local gov­ernment autonomy. We have been in the streets protesting for local government autono­my. Now that there is light at the end of the tunnel, it will amount to ungratefulness if we fail to commend you,” the NLC president said.

The TUC President, Com­rade Osifo, said inflation has adversely affected the value of the naira and that the measures initiated by the government to address the rising cost of food and transportation need to kick in to give citizens relief.

He said the roll out of Com­pressed Natural Gas-powered buses will help in checking the high cost of transportation, while the recent directive on the suspension of duty on cer­tain food imports will bring down the prices of food items, if properly implemented.

“We commend you on the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court. History will not forget what has happened today. With this judgment, we believe Nigeria will make progress,” the TUC president also said.

Further talks were ad­journed until next week to al­low for wider consultation with all stakeholders.

Source: Independent.ng