The Nigeria Labour Congress has faulted plans by the Federal Government to prune workers salaries and merger of some of the Ministries, Department and Agencies in the country.
Comrade Ayuba Wabba,the president of NLC,said in Abuja that it was unthinkable that government would be contemplating to unilaterally slash the salaries of Nigerian workers during economic turbulence in Nigeria.
He said:” The question to ask is “which salary is government planning to slash?” It certainly cannot be the meagre national minimum wage of N30000 which right now cannot even buy a bag of rice! The proposed slash in salaries is certainly not targeted at the minimum wage and consequential adjustment in salaries that some callous State Governors are still dragging their feet to pay! “
According to him, multiple devaluation of the Naira in a very short time and the prevailing high inflation rate in Nigeria have punctured the salaries earned by Nigerian workers across board,adding that Nigerian workers are only surviving by hair’s breadth.
He said it is weird and wicked for a Minister of Nigeria to pronounce salary slash for Nigerian workers at this time.
He added:”This call for salary slash by Mrs. Zainab Ahmed is tantamount to a “mass suicide” wish for Nigerian workers. It is most uncharitable, most insensitive, most dehumanizing and most barbaric. Nigerian workers demand an immediate retraction and apology by the Minister of Finance.
“We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the Minister of Finance to order now before she sets Nigeria on fire with her careless statements. If there is any salary that needs serious slashing it is the humungous remuneration and allowances pocketed by political office holders in Nigeria who do very little but collect so much!
“Workers generate surplus value and revenue for government. We do not constitute any unnecessary cost or burden to governance! It is also important to make the point that salaries are products of contracts governed by laws. They cannot be unilaterally adjusted.
“While many countries of the world are increasing the salaries of their workforce, extending social security coverage for their citizens and providing all forms of palliatives to help their people through the terrible socio-economic dislocations occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be completely absurd for the Nigerian government to be thinking of salary slash. This move is not only at great odds with global best responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also in violation of relevant ILO Conventions and Declarations on Wages and Decent Work”.
He advocated the need for government to urgently respond to the demands by Labour for an upward review of salaries of all Nigerian workers.
Nigerian workers,he said, have showed sufficient understanding with government through the tough patches of the pandemic,adding that they now demand reciprocity of our understanding for increase in their remunerations and allowances.
