….as it Makes 19 demands
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has presented a list of 19-demands to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The long list of demands included a new minimum wage of N200,000.
In a statement by the president and general secretary of the trade unoin demand that the representative of state governors would be part of the communication to be signed, and all governors must commit to implementing the new minimum wage.
Additionally, the TUC demanded a tax holiday for employees earning less than N200,000 or $500 monthly.
They also asked for a PMS Allowance for those earning between N200,000 and N500,000, or $500 and $1,200.
“The exchange rate for retailing PMS in the country must be kept within a limit of +-2% for the next 10 years where the fluctuation is more than two per cent, the minimum wage will automatically increase at the same rate.”
“Setting up an intervention fund where the government will be paying N10 per litre on all locally consumed PMS.”
The TUC put forward these demands to the Nigerian federal and state governments, urging increased funding for education, health and housing.
The union also called for mass transit vehicles to be provided for all social groups, the extension of the National Health Insurance Scheme to cover more Nigerians, and a review of the National Housing Fund to make it more accessible to those in need.
“Government must design a framework for social housing policy for workers through the Rent to Own System.
It has also called for the prompt establishment of a National Labour Advisory Council and a review of the country’s refineries to assess progress and set up a timeline for completion of work.
The TUC also suggested the provision of subsidies for food items using government funds through the government’s proposed $800 million World Bank loan.
“The state of electricity in the country must be appraised and an action plan should be defined with timelines on how to get this.”
TUC medium term demands included deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) across the country in line with the earlier promise made by the government, but on a framework and agreed timeline to be agreed by both parties.
As part of its medium-term demands, TUC stated that both labour and the government should design a framework that would be geared towards the reduction of cost of governance by 15 per cent in 2024 and 30 per cent by 2025.
It said a framework should be immediately put in place to maintain the roads and expand the rail network across the country.
