The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has reacted to the Democracy Day Speech by the President, Bola Tinubu, where he gave assurance of a new minimum wage for the workforce, saying he failed to give them the much expected gift on June 12.
Ag. President of NLC, Comrade Prince Adewale Adeyanju who reacted on behalf of the union said the President may have accurately recounted parts of our democratic journey’s history, but that it is evident that he has been misinformed regarding the outcome of the wage negotiation process.
He said they expected the President to harmonize the two figures submitted to him by the Tripartite Committee in favour of workers and masses, stating that it would have been a fitting Democracy Day gift.
Quoting Mr. President; “As we continue to reform the economy, I shall always listen to the people and will never turn my back on you.
In this spirit, we have negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organized labour on a new national minimum wage. We shall soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of our law for the next five years or less.
In the face of labour’s call for a national strike, we did not seek to oppress or crack down on the workers as a dictatorial government would have done. We chose the path of cooperation over conflict.
No one was arrested or threatened. Instead, the labour leadership was invited to break bread and negotiate toward a good-faith resolution”
Adeyanju said the organised Labour appreciate the President’s commitment to those fine democratic ideals which allowed the work of the Tripartite National Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee to proceed unhindered despite some hiccups.
He said Labour had expected Mr. President to have used this understanding as one of those who was in the vanguard of the struggle with us around the nation to rescue Nigeria from the hands of the military to harmonize the two figures submitted to him by the Tripartite Committee in favour of workers and masses. It would have been a fitting Democracy Day gift.
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