Strike looms over minimum wage failed talks

The Organised Labour under the auspices of the Trade Union Side of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council has announced that it will give no further notice to the Federal Government before millions of its members at the federal and 36 states public services commence strike over the non-implementation of the new National Minimum Wage and appropriate consequential adjustment.

In a statement made available to our correspondent on Tuesday, the TUS Acting Chairman, Anchaver Simon, and the Secretary, Alade Lawal, said that it had become imperative to alert the general public that all efforts by the trade unions to persuade the government to implement the new N30,000 monthly national minimum wage signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on April 18, with appropriate consequential adjustment, had been frustrated by the government.

The union stated that what had become clear was that the Government Side was not serious about paying millions of workers a new national minimum wage and adequate consequential adjustment but preferred taking the trade unions for a ride.

It stressed that as a responsible trade union, the TUS had given the government enough time to come to terms with workers’ demand but it appeared that the only language necessary for government to act was a strike action.

The union recalled that initially, it recommended 66.6 per cent across board so as to maintain existing relativity in emoluments of public servants, but the Government Side argued that the wage bill would be too high.