TUC on minimum wage: FG has violated our agreements… our hope yet to be renewed

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has asked the federal government to implement all agreements reached with organised labour in 2023, especially the national minimum wage. 

On October 1, President Bola Tinubu approved N35,000 as the provisional wage increment for all treasury-paid workers for six months as part of an agreement reached with the labour unions to avoid a nationwide strike due to the removal of the petrol subsidy.

Festus Osifo, TUC president, said the union had strived to ensure that social dialogue with the federal government prevailed.

He, however, said the federal government has failed to implement basic agreements with labour, saying “Our hope is not renewed yet”.

Osifo spoke in a New Year message jointly signed with Nuhu Toro, secretary-general of the union, on Wednesday.

He said organised labour had insisted that the October 2, 2023 agreements between the unions and the federal government be notarised by the court.

“However, government has serially violated the agreements. For instance, Item two states clearly that: ‘A minimum wage committee shall be inaugurated within one month from the date of this agreement’,” he said.

“Today, three months after, no such committee has been set up and this is our experience with this government in at least two previous agreements reached from June.

“TUC has resolved to demand of the Tinubu administration that in 2024, all agreements between labour and government should be implemented.

“This include the payment of the monthly N35,000 Wage Award to Public Servants in the Local Government, State and Federal services.

“These must be implemented until a new National Minimum Wage is implemented.”

Osifo said a new minimum wage must be negotiated, implemented, and if further delayed in the year, arrears must be paid.

He noted that inflation, which was running at 28.2 percent, must be drastically reduced to the Sub-Saharan African regional average of 9.4 percent.

The TUC president urged governments at state and federal levels to stop “the unnecessary, economically-unwise and unpatriotic tradition of taking loans”.

“This is especially when these loans only end up being used to purchase thousands of expensive jeeps for legislators, pampered members of the Executive and their spouses, among others,” he said.

He urged the government to stop “its ill-advised devaluation of the national currency”, adding that the move has led to mega inflation in the import-dependent economy.

The TUC president also called for drastic reduction in the price of petrol to repair the damage done to the economy and by ensuring local production of refined products.

Osifo added that the security of Nigerians should be the yard stick with which to determine whether the military, security chiefs and others should remain in office or be replaced.

He urged Tinubu to sanction officials for serious security breaches such as the Plateau killings.

He also said community policing should be prioritised alongside the mobilisation of the citizens to defend themselves against bandits.

“The Year 2024 holds a lot of promise for us all provided Nigerians, as a people, would unite and assert our authority over all powers,” he said.

“These include the Nigerian ruling class manning all branches, levels, institutions and organs of government.”

In December 2023, the federal government said a new minimum wage regime would take effect from April 1, 2024.