Benson Upah, the Nigeria Labour Congress’s Head of Media and Publicity, has claimed that the Federal government has made a counter offer by raising the minimum wage proposal from N60,000 to N2000.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
He emphasized that it was not the labor unions that pushed the government into an untenable situation; rather, it was the government that drove the populace into their current predicament. He highlighted the precarious economic situation, noting that N60,000 is equivalent to merely $37 in value. He stated that by comparing the nominal value of the proposed wage increase to its actual purchasing power, the offer from the government is insufficient.
He said in an interview with Arise TV, ”We got another counter offer, FG has put just N2000 on top of the N60,000. We do not push the government to an unenviable position. It is the government that pushes the people to the position that we are now. The government pushed the people to where we are and Labour acted, speaking on behalf of the people by saying No, if you want to go this way. This is what is going to happen. Do you know that the value of N60,000 is N37 dollars and we are an import-dependent country? We import virtually everything. We import even the bag of rice that costs N70,000 to N80,000.”CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>