A socio-political group, the Confederation of All Progressives Congress Support Groups, has called for restraint on the part of Nigeria Labour Congresss in the course of negotiating minimum wage with the federal government.
The group’s director-general, Kailani Muhammed, gave the advice at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, saying it would be difficult for states struggling to pay N30,000 minimum wage to pay their workers N615,000 wage bill being proposed by NLC.
Mr Muhammed said the demand by NLC had raised much concern as the country was presently at an economic crossroads.
He urged the NLC to revisit its discussion with the government by reviewing issues of national importance, such as the national minimum wage.
Mr Muhammed said, “First of all, in an attempt to respond to this demand, I would like us to critically look at Nigeria’s economic profile. Without mincing words, the country, to say the least, is presently at an economic crossroads.
“The country is embedded in an unprecedented foreign debt profile as never before. The administration of President Bola Tinubu, who unfortunately or fortunately, is saddled with the task of solving the debt profile riddle, even though not daunted, is working round the clock to solve the debacle.”
He added, “This is not to say that the Nigerian workers should solely shoulder the pains but in trying to make the Nigerian workers reasonably comfortable, we must be reasonable in the approach.”
The group however advise the NLC to tread the path of maturity on issues of national importance, such as the national wage discussion with the government.
