Nigeria Labour Congress in the South West geopolitical political zone, have put forward a demand of N794,000, as new national minimum wage.
Chairman of the Lagos State Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Funmi Sessi made the recommendation at the Public Hearings, organised by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, chaired by the Minister of Finance, and Coordinating Minister for Economy, Wale Edun.
According to Sessi, a review to current workers’ wage must be commensurate with current economic reality, considering the rising cost of living, in order to achieve a fair and sustainable minimum wage.
Reacting, Minister of Finance, Wale Edun queried the absence of pensioners from the meeting, before appealing to traders to stop unnecessary hike of prices of food stuff.
Edun also restated government’s commitment to support increase in production.
Meanwhile, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke who was appointed to represent governors in the region at the hearing, stated that all the governors agree that the workers in Nigeria are due for an improved welfare package.
However, Adeleke argued that the demands of the workers may not be sustainable, calling on the National Assembly through the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to review existing sharing formulas in favour of states and local governments.
He also advocated the removal of solid minerals from the exclusive list to concurrent legislative list, to allow sub-nationals directly manage their resources for efficiency and productivity.
