Minimum wage protest: Lagos witnesses full compliance

The Organised Labour, comprising Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress (TUC), United Labour Congress (ULC) and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) lived up to the threats of organising a mass protest across the country on Tuesday, 8th January 2019. To express their discontentment at the fact that the Federal Government had yet to transmit the N30,000 minimum wage report agreed by the tripartite committee to the National Assembly. The sensitisation protest which started from Maryland as early as 7 a.m., to the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Witnessed full participation as vehicular movements were disturbed across the Ikeja-Alausa axis. Labour leaders who took part in their numbers, carrying placards and banners with inscriptions like: “N30,000 minimum wage, not negotiable”; “place politicians and workers on the same living wage salary structure”, among others. Insisted that the protest was not political but to hand over a letter to Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, to further communicate with the Governors’ Forum on the agreed minimum wage. Mr. Solomon Adelegan, Vice President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) told the workers that the current demand for a new minimum wage had gone beyond the negotiation stage. According to him, labour will not relax until the report of the new minimum wage is passed to the National Assembly for implementation. Mr. Abiodun Aremu, General Secretary, Joint Action Front (JAF), said that the N30,000 minimum wage was not negotiable, saying that the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), would support the organised labour till the new minimum wage is implemented. However, when Mr. Benjamin Adeyinka, a Special Adviser to Gov. Ambode told the protesting workers that the governor was not available, they shouted and insisted that the gate should be opened. Adeyinka was not allowed to make a further speech, as the protesting workers insisted that they did not want to hear from him. Recall that the tripartite committee in November 2018, presented its report to President Muhammadu Buhari and expected the report to be forwarded to the National Assembly after two weeks. Joy Obakeye