Minimum wage: Tinubu’s govt deceived labour unions to accept N70,000 — South-west pensioners

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in the South West has condemned the federal government for deceiving organized labor into agreeing to the N70,000 new minimum wage for workers in the country.

The pensioners, who lamented the increasing level of hardship in the country due to the federal government’s policies, explained that the N70,000 agreed upon by the unions is unacceptable to zonal retirees given the prevailing circumstances.

Dr. Olusegun Abatan, the Public Relations Officer of NUP in the South West, spoke with newsmen after the union’s zonal council meeting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Thursday. He urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to return to the government for an upward review of the amount.

He added that the government deceived organized labor into accepting N70,000 as the minimum wage, promising not to increase the pump price. However, the government has now brazenly announced a petrol price increase to over a thousand naira.

According to him, “The South West pensioners, after our deliberations, resolved that before the N70,000 new minimum wage was implemented, the federal government had already increased the price of petrol. We concluded that the two labor centers (NLC and TUC) that engaged in that negotiation did so without adequate preparation.

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“They entered the negotiations naively, forgetting that when dealing with the devil, your spoon must be very long. Similarly, when negotiating with politicians, your spoon must be longer than that of the devil.

“The federal government took advantage of the naivety and inexperience of the organized labor leaders by tricking them into accepting N70,000 with the promise not to increase fuel prices. However, as soon as they agreed, the government increased the petrol price.

“Therefore, South West pensioners are rejecting the N70,000 negotiated by labor and advise that labor should return to the negotiating table and insist on the N250,000 they initially sought. Very soon, the N2,000 increase in fuel prices threatened by the government will come to pass. In reality, the value of that N70,000 is just about 60 liters of fuel.”

Regarding how organized labor can compel the government to reconsider, the South West pensioners said, “If striking is necessary to achieve this, we support it because these leaders are not showing any willingness to curb their profligate lifestyles despite the hardship. Labor should use whatever means necessary to address this issue.”

Abatan, who is the Secretary of Oyo State NUP, called on governors in the region to prioritize the welfare of pensioners by paying all outstanding gratuities, lamenting that senior citizens are among the hardest hit by the current economic crunch.

On the issue of financial autonomy granted to local governments, the pensioners, while supporting the move, warned that local government chairmen in the zone must not subject members to hardship in implementing their programs.