Governors of the 36 States of the federation have stated that the proposed N60,000 minimum wage by the Federal Government is unsustainable and unfeasible.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) recently went on strike after rejecting this wage offer. However, the strike was temporarily suspended for one week to allow for further negotiations with the government, which had pledged to raise the wage from N60,000.
The state Governors believe that the N60,000 minimum wage is not practical and would lead some states to borrow money to meet salary obligations.
The statement reads;
“The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is in agreement that a new minimum wage is due. The Forum also sympathises with labour unions in their push for higher wages.
“However, the Forum urges all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners.
“The NGF cautions parties in this important discussion to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.
“All things considered, the NGF holds that the N60,000 minimum wage proposal is not sustainable and can not fly. It will simply mean that many states will spend all their FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes.
“In fact, a few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month. We do not think this will be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.
“We appeal that all parties involved, especially the labour unions, consider all the socioeconomic variables and settle for an agreement that is sustainable, durable, and fair to all other segments of the society who have legitimate claim to public resources.”
Discover more from Afric Showbiz
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
