The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has tasked its state councils to commence immediate negotiation with the governors on the implementation of the consequential adjustment of the N30, 000 new national minimum wage which was signed into law on 18th April 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President of the NLC, comrade Ayuba Wabba, made this known at the 2019 NLC National Leadership retreat held in Enugu today.
“We call on all our State Councils to offer the needed leadership and work harmoniously with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) to ensure effective implementation of the new national minimum wage and consequential salary adjustment which must be reached through a process of collective bargaining,” Wabba said.
The 3-day 2019 NLC National Leadership Retreat had as its theme “Strategic Leadership and New Challenges in the Future of Work.”
Speaking at the event, Wabba noted that the main goal of this year’s retreat was to get the leadership of Congress at all levels “to examine, discuss, brainstorm and proffer pragmatic ideas to the challenges of today and fears for tomorrow confronting Nigerian workers.
“Nigerian workers are forced to beg for their salaries which are now owed in arrears.
“While other countries have fully accommodated and automated the process of minimum wage adjustments and are now focused on living wages, we are faced with a situation where we are forced to bargain too hard and wait for too long for meagre increases in minimum wage and adjustments in salary.” Wabba lamented.
