The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has made demands for an increase in the minimum wage to N200,000 monthly.

In the course of the meeting, the union has asked the federal government to restore the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to its previous N185 pump price to allow for a fair negotiation ground.

In a statement released by the President and Secretary General of TUC, Mr Nuhu Toro said,  

Segment of the Letter TUC to the Office of the President

“For immediate implementation: Status quo ante of PMS pump price should be maintained while discussion continues. The minimum wage should be increased from the current N30,000 to N200,000 before the end of June 2023, with consequential adjustments on the cost of living allowance, COLA, like feeding, transport, housing, etc.

“A representative of state governors will be party to this communiqué and all the governors must commit to implement the new minimum wage.

“Tax holiday for employees both in government and private sector that earn less than N200,000 or 500USD monthly whichever is higher. PMS allowance to be introduced for those earning between N200,000 and N500,000 or 500USD to 1,200USD whichever is higher.

“The exchange rate for retailing PMS in the country must be kept within a limit of two per cent 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 of intervention fund where the government will be paying N10 per litre on all locally consumed PMS. The primary purpose of this fund is to solve perennial and protracted national issues in education, health and housing. A governance structure that will include labour, civil society and government will be put in place to manage the implementation.

“Federal government should provide mass transit vehicles for all categories of the populace. State governments should immediately set up a subsidized transportation system to reduce the pressure on workers and students. The framework around this will be worked out.

“Immediate review of the National Health Insurance Scheme to cover more Nigerians and prevent stock of drugs.

“Visitation of the refineries that are currently undergoing rehabilitation to ascertain the state of work and setting up a timeline for its completion.

“The president should direct whoever will be labour minister to immediately constitute the National Labour Advisory Council, NLAC. This platform will be used by the government, labour and employers to discuss issues and policies of the government that may affect workers and all other mandates as specified in the law.

“Provision of subsidy directly for food items, the $800million could be a first step. The existing National Housing Fund, NHF, should be made accessible to genuine workers; the framework on this must be discussed and agreed.”

TUC also said,  “deployment of Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, across the country, in line with the earlier promise made by the government. The framework and timeline will be developed and agreed by both parties.

“Labour and government to design a framework that will be geared towards the reduction of cost of governance by 15 per cent in 2024 and 30 per cent by 2025.

“A framework should be immediately put in place to maintain roads and expand the rail networks across the country. Government must design a framework for social housing policy for workers through a rent-to-own system.

“The state of electricity in the country must be appraised and an action plan should be defined with timelines on how to get this fixed.”

Their demands were fixed on the rise of the minimum wage from N30,000 to N20,000 by the end of June 2023 and a provision of Tax holiday for employees both in the government and private sector who earn less than N200,000 to $500 USD per month, whichever is higher. Although with these jobs, Nigerians have been able to make good income despite the economic hardship. The exciting thing is that you don't need a degree to get these jobs.

Current news on the TUC strike action that was scheduled for Wednesday, June 7 2023.

The Nigeria Labour Unions (NLC & TUC) have agreed to cancel their planned strikes for June 7th, 2023.

After a closed-door discussion with government officials in Aso Rock late Monday evening (5th June 2023), the union agreed to call off the strike.

According to reports from TVC, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, former Governor of Edo State Adams Oshiomole, former Labour Minister of State Festus Keyamo, and Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila were in attendance.

The outcome of the meeting was announced to State House correspondents by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the incoming Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and confirmed by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, following an almost 6-hour meeting between representatives of the Federal Government and organized labour at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

One of the biggest online job search platforms in Nigeria Hubforjobs recently published that Nigeria’s unemployment rate is at 37.7% and is expected to rise to 40.6% by the end of 2023. It's a clear indication that the government has to come to a possible conclusion to stop the hardship its citizens are experiencing.