Labour has resorted to the strike option, after negotiation collapsed in finding a way out of the minimum wage logjam.
The two parties have engaged in endless and often fruitless meetings, raising anxiety and frustrations among public sector workers, who have waited patiently over the months for the new wage.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday at the continuation of a conciliatory meeting, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, said the meeting was an opportunity for information sharing and an avenue to soften ground for a final meeting, slated for Oct. 15.
He told the labour leaders to be open-minded in their dialogue so that both parties could get a way out of the minimum wage logjam.
Ngige said he believed that the meeting would bring an end to issues in contention, if both parties agreed and understood each other’s positions.
The Deputy President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Mr Amaechi Asugwuni, who spoke on behalf of organised labour, said that the meeting was called by the minister to share information with labour leaders.
He said that labour had made considerable shift on its demands from the earlier position on the consequential adjustment of the N30, 000 minimum wage.
On the mobilisation for strike, Asugwuni said that the meeting on Oct. 15 would determine everything, noting that mobilisation was on top gear “for an industrial action from 17th October, 2019”.
NAN recalls that labour leaders are demanding 29 per cent salary increase for workers on salary grade level 07 to 14 and 24 per cent adjustment for officers on salary grade level 15 to 17.
But the Federal Government had presented a proposal of 11 per cent salary increase for officers on grade level 07 to14 and 6.5 per cent adjustment for workers on grade level 15 to 17.
On May 14, the Federal Government inaugurated the relativity and consequential adjustment committee, which in turn set up a technical sub-committee to work out a template for the adjustment of salaries of public service employees.
But government and labour have failed to reach an agreement over relativity and consequential adjustments for the implementation of the new wage more than six months after it was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a communiqué issued on Oct. 7, labour warned that economic activities would be shut down from Oct. 16, if the Federal Government failed to reconvene a meeting of the committee on consequential adjustments.
from pmnews...
Let there be little strike so that we can rest small.
ReplyDeleteThis people shd just start the strike even just for three days if not this govt will keep on dilly dallying. Very wicked and heartless human beings - wetin poor civil servants and masses that do the bulk of work do for una? Living off their sweat and rights is not fair at all. Look at d senathieves carting millions home monthly talkless of top govt functionaries. Una no get fear of God at all. Abeg let d strike being earnestly biko.
ReplyDeleteOya they should do and strike jor.
ReplyDelete