The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), demanded the payment of a new minimum wage of N200,000 monthly.
It also demanded that the government revert to the old N185 pump price of petrol per litre to allow for a conducive environment for negotiation.
The Trade Union Congress stated in a statement signed by its President Festus Osifo and Secretary General Nuhu Toro: “For immediate implementation: The status quo ante of PMS pump price should be maintained while discussion continues. Before the end of June 2023, the minimum wage should be raised from the current N30,000 to N200,000, with corresponding COLA adjustments for things like housing, transportation, and food.
“A representative of state governors will be a party to this communiqué, and all the governors must commit to implementing the new minimum wage.
“Tax holiday for employees both in government and the private sector that earn less than N200,000 or 500 USD monthly, whichever is higher. PMS allowance to be introduced for those earning between N200,000 and N500,000, or $500 to $1,200, 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 an 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.
” The federal government should provide mass transit vehicles for all categories of the populace. State governments should immediately set up a subsidised 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 stockpiles of drugs.
“Visitation of the refineries that are currently undergoing rehabilitation to ascertain the state of work and set 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 subsidies directly for food items—the $800 million 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 upon.”
Trade Union Congress also said the medium term would include the “deployment of compressed natural gas, or CNG, across the country, in line with the earlier promise made by the government. The framework and timeline will be developed and agreed upon by both parties.
“Labour and government should design a framework that will be geared towards the reduction of the cost of governance by 15 percent in 2024 and 30 percent 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.”