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National minimum wage: Task Must be Done Well — TUC
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The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has again urged the federal government to inaugurate the National Minimum Wage Committee, to give it ample time to do its work diligently.
TUC’s Deputy President, Mr Tommy Okon, said this on Tuesday, in Lagos, that the failure to inaugurate the committee, three months to the expiration of the current minimum wage, was worrisome.
He said that organised labour would not want to be put under pressure on the wage increase, because it had to be done in line with the rule of engagement.
The labour leader said that organised labour had since submitted the list of members that would be part of the committee for the minimum wage negotiations.
“Whatever intention of government is not known to us, because by now, the committee should have been inaugurated.
“We do not want a situation where the work of the committee is done under desperation because this is January, and the N30,000 national minimum wage will expire on April 18, this year (2024).
“So, it is expected that by now the committee will have been inaugurated and a chairman of the committee appointed, because it is tripartite in nature, and the committee has to conduct the activities also on zonal bases.
“Thereafter, it will come to a conclusion where, whatever will be agreed, will also be sent to the National Assembly, which in turn, will also look at the public hearing, and thereafter, sent to Mr President for assent, “ he said.
Okon said there were both positive and negative implications in further delay of setting up the committee.
According to him, the positive is in the sense that government may have agenda unknown to labour and trying to be sure of what it wants to come out with.
“However, the negative implication is that it may send a wrong signal that government is not willing to negotiate the national minimum wage and that that will be a very wrong impression if the public is taking that as the position.
“Also, Nigerian workers and the masses are not finding it easy because of the socio economic challenges.
“We know that the N30,000 minimum wage cannot do anything, must less of transportation, payment of house rent, children’s school fees, even taking care of some life threatening challenges.
“So, these are the implications; it is also going to send a negative signal to even international communities because now, we are talking about transition to energy; these are things that need to be put in place, “ Okon said.
He said the issue of the National Minimum Wage review was a task that must be done well.
The Federal Government had on Jan. 17 pledged to fulfill its agreements with organised labour.
Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, made this known during a courtesy visit to the office of the TUC in Abuja.
Onyejeocha said that government appreciated the plight of the trade unions and was ready to partner, but the channels of communication must be kept open.
“Government is working round the clock to ensure that agreements with trade unions are fulfilled,” she had said.
She also said that President Bola Tinubu was focusing on making sure that the issue of a new national minimum wage was addressed.
Onyejeocha added that the federal government would ensure that the committee started work in earnest.
The minister also assured that the government would soon clear the arrears of the N35,000 wage award for workers, which it had started paying.
Recall that the government agreed to pay the wage award to cushion the effect of the removal of petrol subsidy on workers, pending the commencement of the imminent new national minimum wage.
The minister assured the TUC leadership of government’s continued readiness to listen to them, as well as partner with them for the greater good of the people.(NAN)
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Petrol Price Hike: Residents Stranded as Transporters Protest in Ilorin
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Several commercial transport operators in Ilorin on Thursday stormed some major streets in the metropolis to protest the new hike in petrol pump price.
During the protest, they expressed their displeasure with the sudden price hike, with the action leading to untold hardship for thousands of commuters.
The protests which commenced on Thursday morning significantly disrupted the movement of commercial vehicles across the city.
This forced passengers to resolve to trekking to their destinations.
The protest was spearheaded by some operators of commercial tricycles and commercial motorcycle riders who blocked several major roads in the city.
The road blocks occurred at Taiwo Isale, Coca-Cola road Junction, Maraba, Gambari Road and Offa Garage, bringing traffic to a standstill for several hours.
Consequently, commuters faced severe delays as the protesters restricted vehicular movements, demanding immediate action to address the situation.
Jimoh Abubakar, a commercial tricycle operator who spoke with newsmen at Maraba, revealed that the protest was because of the sudden hike in fuel pump price.
Abubakar said the increase was unfair, adding that transporters hardly made profit due to money spent on fuel.
“In fact, when we were charging N50 per drop, it was more profitable than now. The hardship is too much, the government should help us,” he said.
Another tricycle rider, Yusuf Issa, also called on government to reduce fuel pump price, saying tricycle riders now spend all their income on fuel.
“They (government) should reduce it totally. It is becoming very difficult to make any profit, not to talk of taking care of the family from what we do for a living,” he said.
The focal points of the protest, such as Maraba and Murtala Mohammed Way Junction, witnessed aggrieved transporters chanting “(We say) ‘No’ to consistent price hike”.
Security operatives, including personnel of the Nigerian Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), were deployed to key areas in the metropolis to ease the tension and ensure orderliness.
The presence of security agents helped to prevent any escalation into violence and ensured that the protest remained largely peaceful in spite of the significant disruptions to daily activities.
The protest caused widespread disruption as residents who relied on public transport as they were stranded and could not go for their daily activities.
Many of them later resolved to trekking to their various destinations.
Report says that most independent petroleum marketers in Kwara now sell at different prices ranging from N950 to N1200 per litre.(NAN)
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Anti-bullet Charm Trial: Native Doctor in Police Net for Allegedly killing Client
Police in Edo have detained a 19-year-old native doctor, Timothy Dauda, for allegedly shooting his client, Alex Ezekiel, to death during an “anti-bullet” charm trial.The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Moses Yamu, confirmed the incident to Newsmen on Monday.Yamu said that the incident happened on August 20 in Onumu Community, near Igara, Akoko Edo Local Government Area of the state.
He said that the suspect was arrested by operatives from Igarra Divisional Police Station in Akoko-Edo. The suspect allegedly claimed to specialise in preparing charms against gunshots and machete cuts.A source further told NAN that the deceased had visited the native doctor’s home to obtain the charm.It said that “in a shocking turn of events”, Dauda attempted to test the efficacy of the charm by shooting the client with a gun.The charm was said to have failed as he sustained fatal injuries.“When he was rushed to a hospital in Igarra, he was pronounced dead by a medical doctor,” the source further said.Meanwhile, the police spokesman said that the suspect would face prosecution as soon as investigations were concluded(NANUncategorized
Police Arrest 2 for Allegedly Robbing Commercial Sex Workers in Lagos
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The Police Command in Lagos State says it has arrested two men for allegedly robbing three commercial sex workers.
The Command’s Spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrest to newsmen on Saturday.
Hundeyin said that the three sex workers reported the case to the police on Wednesday at about 2.
20a.m.He disclosed that the victims reported that they sighted two robbery suspects at an undisclosed place, who allegedly robbed them of their valuables on Aug.
23, at about 4.30a.m.“They stated they were picked up being commercial sex workers at Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Bode Thomas, Surulere by the two suspects.
“They were taken to where they claimed the (suspects) lodged.
Suddenly, the suspects parked and ordered them to surrender their valuables.“In the process, two Iphone valued at N1.05 million, one REDMI Note 12 valued at N140,000, Iphone SR valued at N240,000 were collected from them.
“The suspects also compelled the victims to transfer ₦25,OOO to an Opay Account and N8, 000 to same account,” he said.
The police spokesperson said that during investigation, the suspects confessed to the crime.
He disclosed that the suspects operational vehicle, a Toyota Camry with Reg. No. APP335 JA, two other blank number plates they were using for their operation were recovered.
Hundeyin said that one of the victim’s cell phone, REDMI NOTE 12, was also recovered from the suspects, while investigation was ongoing. (NAN)