Petrol Subsidy Removal: Nigeria’s Trade Union Congress Demands N200,000 Minimum Wage, Lists 19-Point Demand

In a statement jointly signed by its president, Festus Osifoh, and General Secretary, Nuhu Toro, Nigeria’s Trade Union Congress has made a 19 point demand, stating that the representative of state governors would be party to the communiqué to be signed and also added that all governors must commit to implementing the new minimum wage of #200,000.

In addition, TUC demanded a tax holiday for employees, both in government and private sector, that earn less than N200, 000 or $500 monthly, whichever is higher.

Other immediate demands by TUC included requests for “PMS Allowance to be introduced for those earning between N200, 000 and N500, 000 or $500 and $1,200, whichever is higher.

“The exchange rate for retailing PMS in the country must be kept within a limit of +- two per cent for the next 10 years where the fluctuation is more than two per cent, the minimum wage will automatically increase at the same rate.

“Setting up an intervention fund where the government will be paying N10 per litre on all locally consumed PMS.”

TUC stated that the primary purpose of the intervention fund was to solve perennial and protracted national issues in education, health, and housing.

The union noted that a governance structure that would include labour, civil society, and government would be put in place to manage the implementation.

It further asked that the federal government should provide mass transit vehicles for all categories of the populace, while state governments should immediately set up subsidised transportation systems to reduce the pressure on workers and students.

TUC also demanded immediate review of the National Health Insurance Scheme to cover more Nigerians and prevent out of stock of drugs.

It urged government to arrange for a visit to the refineries currently undergoing rehabilitation to ascertain the state of work, and set up a timeline for completion of work.

The labour centre said the president should direct whoever would be the labour minister in the new administration to immediately constitute the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC). It suggested the provision of subsidy directly for food items, using the government’s proposed $800 million World Bank loan.

According to TUC, the existing National Housing Fund (NHF) should be made accessible to genuine workers; and the framework on this must be discussed and agreed.

TUC medium term demands included deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) across the country in line with the earlier promise made by the government, but on a framework and agreed timeline to be agreed by both parties.

As part of its medium-term demands, TUC stated that both labour and the government should design a framework that would be geared towards the reduction of cost of governance by 15 per cent in 2024 and 30 per cent by 2025.

It said a framework should be immediately put in place to maintain the roads and expand the rail network across the country.

TUC demanded, “Government must design a framework for social housing policy for workers through the Rent to Own System.

“The state of electricity in the country must be appraised and an action plan should be defined with timelines on how to get this.”

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