FG tasked to review wage increase
The Federal Government has been advised to critically address workers wages in the country, if there will be a collective motivation towards economic growth.
The call, according to the General Secretary, National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers (NUTGTW), Comrade Issa Aremu, will help boost the morale of Nigerian workers in all productive sectors of the economy.
Comrade Aremu stated that the economy has the potential for faster recovery if the government consider the contributions of its employees,
which he believe can be possible if “the government put an end to the persistent crisis of compensation of the working class”, manifesting in what he termed as “criminal” non-payment and delayed payments of salary by many states, despite several Federal Government bailouts of trillions of naira.
Aremu expressed concerns at the reports released by the National Bureau of Statistics, stating that Nigeria is officially out of recession, stating that Nigeria could only recover from economic recession if citizens are enhanced with purchasing power, which is only possible through prompt and adequate payment of over 10 million employed workforce.
He noted that the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) (2016-2020), launched last year, envisaged 4.6 per cent real GDP growth in the year, adding that this makes the recent token positive growth of 0.55 per cent a far cry from the planned target.
Aremu said the key to sustainable development has improved labour productivity in both public and private sectors, which could only happen with motivated pay and quality pensions.
He advised the Federal Government to address the crises of compensation in all sectors, notably education, and settle with unions agitation bordering on agreements the government has failed to live up to.
