NLC vows to boycott 2019 general elections over N30,000 minimum wage

NLC vows to boycott 2019 general elections over N30,000 minimum wage

- As Nigerians prepare for the 2019 general elections, the Nigeria Labour Congress in Cross River state says it will not participate in the polls

- The congress says it will boycott the elections if the federal and state governments fail to implement the N30,000 minimum wage

- According to the union, if the federal government and governors say no to minimum wage, the workers also say there is no vote for them and no election

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Cross River state has vowed to boycott the 2019 general elections if the federal and state governments fail to implement the N30,000 minimum wage.

The declaration was made on Tuesday, January 8, by the chairman of the state chapter of NLC, John Ushie, Punch reports.

Legit.ng gathers that Uchie, who made the declaration during a peaceful protest in Calabar to press home the workers’ demand for the implementation of the minimum wage, said labour would continue the struggle until the latter is victorious.

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According to the NLC chairman in Cross River, the current minimum wage of N18,000 had become obsolete since 2015.

He said: “Labour will continue the struggle until we get victory. Victory does not come easy, it will require all our energy, and it will require us to put all. The minimum wage is long overdue since 2015. Workers have run out of patience, so we are here to take our destinies in our hands.

“We are here to protest because it is a national directive; we will do so until we get a commitment from government concerning the N30,000 minimum wage and when it will be enacted into law.

“Secondly, we are here to send a message to President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately transmit the minimum wage bill to the National Assembly for passage, so that the money can get to Nigerian workers without further delay.

“If the federal government and governors say no to minimum wage, we also say there is no vote for them; no election."

According to him, the rally will culminate into an indefinite strike if nothing is done quickly by the federal government.

Legit.ng previously reported that the organised labour warned that its planned nationwide industrial action could start anytime without further notice following the federal government’s refusal to send a draft bill on the N30,000 national minimum wage to the National Assembly to legislate into law.

The president of the United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC), Joe Ajaero, who gave the warning, said although no date had been fixed for commencement of the strike, it could start the next day after the national protest.

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Ajaero said: ‘’It can start today, it can start at anytime. We agreed during our meeting (of leaders of organised labour) on December 20, 2018, in Lagos that the December 31 deadline given to government to send a draft bill to the National Assembly to legislate on the N30,000 minimum wage recommendation by the Tripartite Committee, serves as a final notice to the government for us to resume the suspended November 6, 2018 nationwide strike."

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Source: Legit.ng

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