2019: Don’t expect our votes – NLC, TUC, ULC tell Nigerian govt

The Organised Labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the United Labour Congress (ULC) begin mobilisation towards a nationwide strike with a protest march in Abuja on Tuesday, where it declared that the government should not expect workers votes without a new national minimum wage.

While declaring that President Muhammadu Buhari, the state governors and Nigerian legislatures were among the highest paid in the world and the workers are the poorest paid; they vowed to use their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC), to vote against those who are against the new minimum wage.

The rally, tagged “National Day of Mourning and outrage” started at the Labour House, Central Business Area, Abuja through the Ministry of Finance, Federal Secretariat and terminated at the Villa gate, where the protesters were prevented to gain entrance to Villa by security operatives.

“No minimum wage, no votes,” the workers insisted, with many of them carrying placards with inscriptions: inscriptions, “No minimum wage, No work from Nov. 6’’, “Minimum Wage of N30, 000 not negotiable’’, “Minimum wage will boost Nigerian economy.’’

Other inscriptions are: “Upward review of Minimum wage will not trigger inflation’’, “Ngige and governors do not own Nigeria, Nigeria belongs to all workers,’’ among others.

Various speakers frowned at the Federal Government’s delay in the promulgation of the new National Minimum Wage for workers and gave the government till November 5, to pronounce N30,000 as arrived at during the last meeting of the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage or face a nationwide strike.

Specifically, the President of NLC Comrade Ayuba Wabba said the workers can no longer be taken for a fool as regard the issue of minimum wage, and warned that the government has between now and November 5, to announce a new wage of N30.000 or face an industrial action.

Wabba regretted that while the governors were saying that they cannot afford to pay a new minimum wage, they are busy buying hundreds of campaign vehicles for election.

According to him, Nigerian workers have decided to use their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) against those who are saying that they cannot pay minimum wage during the 2019 general elections.

The NLC President said: “We receive the lowest salaries in the world, while our president, governors, legislators, ministers and councillors are among the highest paid in the world.

“Every Nigerian provides electricity, water, road and security for himself, Ngige did not tell the government the truth, governance is on trial as ordinary Nigerians are dying due to increasing poverty and suffering.

“A new minimum wage is not a favour but a right, it is a crime to deny workers their rights. Give us our new minimum wage today. When it comes to the salaries of political office holders, there are always enough resources, but when it comes to the salaries of workers, the story changes.

“One country, separate laws, no new minimum wage, no vote. The governors should stop grandstanding in Abuja, they should go back and face their workers.

“New National minimum wage, no retreat, no surrender! 30,000 National minimum wage equals N1,000 per day, 1.000 per day for a family of six equals N50 per meal.”

Also speaking, the TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama said that since the government is taken Nigerian Workers for a ride, the workers would use the power at their disposal.

He pointed out that N30.000 of today is less than N18.000 in 2011; adding “they are taking us for a ride but they don’t think that we have power. Our power is our PVCs, we are going to make a very good use of it. Each worker has the ability of 20 persons in Nigeria, so we are going to mobilize our friends and family to vote out these crops of people out of office.

“You can imagine, governors saying they can’t pay N30.000? How much is the amount as at today, considering inflation and other indices.”