Your comment on minimum wage uninformed, speculative, TUC blasts Onanuga
.Asks Tinubu to call him to order
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has condemned the statement credited to the Special Adviser to the president on information and strategy, Bayo Ononuga over minimum wage, saying such comment was speculative and uninformed.
Ononuga was quoted to have said that it would be difficult for government to peg the minimum wage at 100,000, maintaining that such amount is on high side for state and federal governments to pay
But the trade union, in a statement yesterday said, the special adviser was threathening the work given to the minimum wage negotiation committee set up by government.
It asked president Bola Tinubu to call his aide to order to avoid the action of the organised labour.
The statement of the congress signed by the General Secretary, Nuhu Toro, reads:
“The attention of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC has been drawn to speculative and uninformed public pronouncements by the Presidency on the on-going National Minimum Wage Negotiations.
“Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu had on Monday claimed that it will be difficult for Government to peg the proposed new Minimum Wage at N100,000.
“He hypothetically said that both the Federal and State Governments will be unable to pay public servants a N100, 000 or more National Minimum Wage if such were approved.
“The remarks made by the aide are not only insensitive but also indicative of a disconnect from the realities faced by millions of hardworking individuals striving to make ends meet.
“Such speculative statements undermine the fundamental principles of fair compensation and perpetuate the cycle of economic inequality.
“President Tinubu’s government owe workers a duty to advocate for policies that promote decent wages and ensure reasonable standard of living for all citizens, in line with global best practices.
“Furthermore, the Federal and State Governments, employers and Labour, are in the preliminary stages of negotiations for the New National Minimum Wage in the country in accordance with the constitution. No proposals have been made by any of the negotiating partners including the Presidency; no offer has been made, and none has been negotiated. So, the President’s Spokesman in bandying around figures, is merely being mischievous.
“This may well be a strategy to throw spanner in the works of the negotiating body”.
Continuing, the trade union said, “If the Presidency has a figure or figures it wants to propose, it should do so through the Minimum wage negotiating Committee, through social dialogue, determined by the cost of living index, rather than behave like a man throwing stones in the market place and hiding his hand.
“The Presidency has knowledgeable people in government that can advise on how proposals are submitted to the negotiating body, rather than allow grossly uniformed speculators like Mr Onanuga to dirty the waters.
“Again, his baseless speculation will no doubt serve to sow the seed of discord and undermine trust in the government.
“Nonetheless, Congress is not going to dignify Onanuga and his principals with counter proposals because this is neither how tripartite negotiation work, nor how social dialogue can be carried out. Rather, we are focused on executing the socio-economic and patriotic task of giving the country a sustainable living wage”.
The congress urged the working people to ignore and disregard Onanuga and what it described as his tribe of gamblers who while milking the country dry, wail that there is no money to pay hard working Nigerians decent wages.
The TUC also held that it is immoral for the funds of the country to be frittered away on things such as buying expensive cars worth billions of Naira for politicians in power and their spouses.
Iy urged all Nigerians to support the democratic process of arriving at a living wage, and ignore the tantrums and distractions of people it said think governance is all about pr
