The Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress, Tommy Etim, has called on the federal and state governments to review the minimum wage every year rather than every five years to keep up with the rising inflation and cost of living.
In an interview with Punch Newspapers, Mr Etim said that any minimum wage paid without considering education, transportation, accommodation and health would be a recipe for corruption.
He pointed out that workers who earn N500,000 as minimum wage would still be poor if they had to pay high fees for their children’s education, transportation, rent and medical bills that are not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme.
“No amount is too big for the Nigerian worker, but what is fundamental is not even the amount. It is putting the structures in place so that whatever you earn will be effective and you will now have what is called economic power,” Mr Etim explained.
He said that the government should be concerned about servicing these structures eating up workers’ income, instead of borrowing money to give to the poorest of the poor.
Read Also:
“The Nigerian government must be conscious of cutting down the cost of governance, and we, organised labour, should no longer negotiate minimum wage after five years. It must be negotiated every year,” he said.
He also condemned the purchase of SUVs for lawmakers as wasteful spending by the government at a time when the country is going through an economic challenge.
According to Etim, the purchase of SUVs was a primitive accumulation of wealth and a sign that most politicians, the majority of whom come from rich backgrounds, do not care about the masses.
“If the government doesn’t realise that and stop wasteful spending, it, therefore, means Nigeria will continue to suffer a leadership crisis,” he said.
Etim further blamed the masses for being the cause of the problem, saying that they have a “take-take” mentality. He highlighted that the masses only to lawmakers to collect money, instead of giving them ideas on how to lead well.
“For instance, the expectations from the masses from their lawmakers in this festive period are not about ideas. The expectations are about money,” he added.
