By Bimbola Oyesola, [email protected]
As the tripartite committee on the national minimum wage reconvene on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, workers in the core civil service have stated that nothing short of N615,000 is expected as the new minimum wage.
The workers, under the umbrella of tne Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), arising from their National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos, said it was in tandem with the economic situation in the country.
The ASCSN national president, Tony Etim Okon, emphasized that the proposed N615,000 by organized labour, comprising the two labour centres, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) is in line with the escalating cost of goods and services, among other economic challenges facing the average Nigerian worker.
Okon, who is also a member of minimum wage committee, expressed disappointment over government’s reluctance in the negotiations.
“Till now, the government has not come up with any amount. If they say that they cannot pay what labour is demanding, they should at least present what they believe they can pay and we can argue and reach a final resolution.
“But the assurance is that organized labour would never settle for an amount that will not be favourable to the average worker,” he said.
Noting that civil servants were most affected by policies, he urged the federal government to carryout due consultation with necessary stakeholders before taking decisions.
He clarified that the 35 percent living wage currently being paid by the government is not limited to six months but will continue until a new minimum wage is announced.
Among other things, the union also charged the Federal Government to bring to book cabals operating in the downstream sector of the economy.
The ASCSN mandated President Bola Tinubu’s led government to investigate the affairs of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to identify and address the cabal operating in the sector.
Okon who doubles as the Deputy President of the TUC asked the management of NNPCL to come out clean as regards speculations concerning whether subsidy was still being paid by government.
He expressed the need for accountability amid rising apprehensions surrounding the removal of fuel subsidies and its impact on the populace.
According to him, “Government has mechanisms in place to combat corruption with different anti-corruption agencies like EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau among others. Whoever is found corrupt should face the music in that direction.”
“Organized labour allowed the president to remove the fuel subsidy. If we had protested against the removal, we may have been blamed for the scarcity of petrol that the nation is currently facing. Now the government is blaming the scarcity on logistics problems. Who is fooling who.”
He noted that government then re-assured Organised labour that when the subsidy is removed, there would be interplay of market force; demand and supply, but now, things have gotten even worse than before.
“That is why we are calling on President Bola Tinubu to beam his searchlight to NNPC Limited to unravel the cabal in the sector, because Nigerians are suffering the apprehension of the sector by these set of people,” he said.
Okon also lamented the failure of government to keep to its promise of reviving Port Harcourt Refinery and other government-owned refineries stressing that local production would eliminate the challenge of landing cost and make petroleum products more available.
Speaking further on some of government’s intervention to reduce the hardship on the masses, the ASCSN boss said, “government promised to introduce CNG buses last year to ease the burden of transportation. This was one of the conditions precedents for the removal of subsidy, but that has not been done till now.”
The Association also gave the federal government a one-week ultimatum to reverse the recent electricity tariff hike to its initial price.
He emphasized that due process was not followed before the hike and expressed concerns about the timing given the current economic challenges in the country.
