New Minimum Wage: Organised private sector not part of NLC, TUC strike – NECA

 The Nigeria Labour Congress directed all its members and affiliate unions to commence a nationwide strike on Thursday (today), 27th September, 2018.

According to The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, the industrial strike was to commence as a result of the Federal Government refusal to reconvene the meeting of the tripartite national minimum wage committee to enable it to conclude its work. He said, “In compliance with this mandate, all workers and private sector at all levels across the country have been directed to comply.

“All public and private institutions, offices, banks, schools, public and private business premises, including filling station, are to remain shut till further notice,” Wabba said at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

The workers are demanding a new minimum wage of about N50,000 from the current national minimum wage of N18,000.

Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, on the other hand has said the organised private sector is not part of strike action by the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Unions Congress, TUC.

Director-General of NECA, Timothy Olawale, made this known in a letter to all members of the association, which was sighted by DAILY POST in Abuja late Wednesday.

He said the leadership of national labour unions had assured NECA that the private sector was not the target of the industrial action but the government.

Against the background, Olawale, therefore, urged the employers to sensitize their workers to the effect that the private sector has no scores to settle with the unions as such not part of the strike action.

The letter reads in part: “We have been in constant touch with the leadership of labour unions and have been assured the target of the strike action is not the private sector but the government and its institution.

“In the light of the feedback that we have received from NLC and TUC, we advise members to sensitise their workers to the effect that the private sector has no problem with the unions, as such not the target of the industrial action.”

The NLC and the TUC on Thursday embarked on a warning strike to protest perceived government complicity in the delay on the conclusion of works by the National Minimum Wage Committee.

Meanwhile, Ngige on the other hand told journalists after a meeting with labour leaders that the tripartite committee on national minimum wage would resume negotiations on October 4.

“We are resuming precisely on Thursday, October 4, and the meeting can spill over to October 5. All the processes have been put in place and labour leaders know; they are now expected to communicate such to their organs; so we don’t have any need for a strike,” he said.

Culled from Dailypost and Punchng.com