.Payrise ‘ll cripple our businesses
.Ask labour to be reasonable in its demand
Chigozie Amadi
Some business men and employers of labour in Àbujà have vowed to reduce their work force or close their businesses should the Federal Government accept to pay workers N615,000 monthly as wages.
Those who responded to questions on the low wages earned by workers expressed sympathy over the inflation and the inability of the Naira to meet the needs of the people but stated that further increase in wages would totally cripple private employers.
The business men insisted that businesses are suffering from high cost of production materials, low patronage, restocking problems ad high taxes.
Alhaji Musa Bello, Managing Director of Albishir Block Industry, Kuje said high cost of cement, sand and other relevant materials forced him to reduce workers and the number of blocks produced daily to save money.
People are complaining about high cost of blocks but they forget that cost of production materials and labour are equally very high, he said adding that if government insisted that workers should earn N615,000 he would rather close the factory and do other business.
A super market owner, Chief Joseph Nwangwu of Galaxy Super Market said “you initially e employed eight sales girls and attendants who’s were receiving N20, 000 monthly as salaries. We have reduced the number to three because people don’t patronize us again lie before due to high cost of goods.
“If we cannot pay N20000 regularly, what is the possibility that we will be able to afford N615,000. Workers should be reasonable in their demands. Even state governments cannot afford to pay the money. I think that the Federal Government will not accept the demand by labour leaders,” he said.
A restaurant owner, Mrs. Abigail Noah angrily asked what the government hopes to gain by always increasing the suffering of the people with bad policies.
“What does government hope to gain by killing Nigerians with bad policies. Why do they want us to pay workers N615,000? How much do I make in a day? Since we increased a plate of food to M1500, how many people come to eat. Everything in the market is costly. How do they want us to survive? I told some of the girls to stop coming to work until further notice,” she said.
