The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has lamented the current petrol price has wiped out the benefits of the yet-to-be implemented N70,000 new national minimum wage.
Speaking at an event in Lagos, on Thursday, September 19, President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, insisted that organised labour was deceived by President Bola Tinubu into accepting the N70,000 minimum wage to forestall petrol price increase.
He advised the government to address the excruciating hunger, poverty and frustration of Nigerians before things go out of hand, lamenting that Nigerians were really suffering.
“I repeat, we were betrayed by Mr President. That statement we issued over our being betrayed is being denied by officials of the government. I am repeating it that we were betrayed.
The president offered us a N250,000 minimum wage on the condition that the petrol pump price would be increased.
We told him no because that would affect all Nigerians, and we would be seen as selfish. Even the N250,000 wouldn’t be useful to us. If we keep increasing salaries, it will damage our economy, leading to further pump price hikes. In fact, that N250,000 might not even be enough to buy fuel.
Some of these things informed the acceptance of N70,000 minimum wage which some of us here were saying was not enough. But some people are still saying they cannot pay that N70,000.
This is the dilemma all of us are facing. In fact, the private sector employers in our meeting gave us tough time. They refused to shift and they wanted to vote with state government, federal government and the private sector on one side, all against labour on the other side,” he said in part.
