Following the agreement between the federal government and the representatives of organised labour for a new minimum wage of N70,000, the Head of the Department of Information for the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Benson Upah has said that Labour is not excited by the agreed minimum wage.
Upah made his stance on the matter very clear during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, when he said, “We are not excited by the 70,000.” He added, “We are sober.”
Further lamenting the agreement and the insignificance of what he believes is a meagre sum, he said, “I do not think what has been offered could be described as victory per se, even as our National leaders are taking what they’ve been told to the appropriate organs this morning for further deliberation or consultation. We are taking this on a note of sombre mood because given the fact of the realities of our economy, 70,000 is not it, it will not be it, and no kind words, no diplomatic language can take the place of the pangs of hunger.”
He also added, “Whatever they said at that meeting was not conclusive. Did they sign any document? No. They said we will go and consult our appropriate organs, and I assure you that this morning, there will be a meeting. At the end of the meeting, there will be a public statement.”
He however praised President Bola Tinubu for being a “good negotiator”, after he chose to reconsider the previously proposed N62,000 that led negotiations into a “deadlock”.
He said, “The discussion deadlocked on 62,000, and here was Mr President saying OK, I’m going to add something. But of course, he was not the first president to do this. I do remember one or two presidents who did a kind of markup. And then, he added 8,000 plus other incentives which, whether you like it or not, are signs of a good negotiator. So, he played the game well. So, that alone was a sufficient reason to say, OK, let us look at what Mr President has offered, we will take this home to our people. If you notice, both the Trade Union Congress (TUC) President and the National Labour Congress (NLC) President said we will take this back home. And I assure you, in the next two or three hours, a meeting will hold, at the end of which a formal statement will be issued.”
The NLC’s Head of Information also expressed that this new agreement does not in any way mean that Labour sold out. He highlighted that Labour put up a vigorous fight against powerful entities. However, just like litigation, negotiations must eventually conclude.
“First, let me tell you that Labour did not sell out. Labour fought with everything in the bag. Labour did all it could, fought against dissenting governors, fought against an unwilling federal government, fought against a reluctant organised private sector. These are entities you cannot ignore. Labour stood alone, fought these entities. And also, take note that like litigation, there must be an end to negotiation. If there is no end to negotiations, there will be problems.”
Melissa Enoch
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