The Nigerian Labour Congress has threatened to resist any attempt by the National Assembly to move the national minimum wage from its current exclusive list to the concurrent list. To demonstrate its readiness to mount stiff opposition to this move, the body will be embarking on a nationwide protest on Wednesday.
In a statement on Tuesday, the NLC said the protest, which will take off from the Unity Fountain in Abuja at 7.30 am, will hold in the 36 states’ Houses of Assembly.
The Congress had after its emergency National Executive Council meeting in Abuja last Tuesday, vowed to resist “any attempt to exterminate Nigeria’s working class”.
The House of Representatives, citing the lack of capacity of some state governments to pay the N30,000 minimum wage, two weeks ago, debated a bill to remove the powers to negotiate wage matters from the exclusive to the concurrent list.
According to a communique jointly signed by NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, and the acting General Secretary of the NLC, Ismail Bello, the bill is an attempt to undermine Nigeria’s working class.
“The NEC decided that there will be a national protest action commencing from March 10, 2021, in the Federal Capital Territory and especially to the National Assembly.
“The NEC decided that should the need arise, it has empowered the National Administrative Council of the NLC to declare and enforce a national strike action, especially if the legislators continue on the ruinous path of moving the national minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list,” it read in part.
