The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Lagos State, Agnes Funmi, has indicated that the labour union may reject the ₦85,000 minimum wage proposed by the state government if other states opt to offer higher amounts.
The statement comes in response to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s announcement during a recent interview on Channels TV, where he revealed that his administration plans to implement the ₦85,000 minimum wage for Lagos civil servants.
The governor’s comments were made during the program titled “One-On-One with Babajide Sanwo-Olu” on Wednesday evening.
Sanwo-Olu said, “I’m glad to let you know that the minimum wage for Lagos which we’ve discussed with our union is ₦85,000 today. It’s not a competition, so I’m not going to say that we’re paying more than some other people, it’s a function of affordability and a function of capacity.
“We actually increased our salary earlier in the year and it’s deserving for our staff, and we’ll continue to do that.
“Seun, I will want to come back to you in January and say that I’ve been able to increase the minimum wage of Lagos to ₦100,000. (This is) not because I want to make anybody look bad, it’s really because I want my people to have a living wage.”
Reacting in an interview on Wednesday, the state chairperson of the NLC, Agnes, told The Punch that the union welcomed the idea but gave conditions for rejecting it.
She said, “Since he is not paying anything below the minimum, we don’t have a choice but to accept, because they also said they have other competing interests like they have their facilities being overstretched because of the population.
“The reason we agree to the ₦85,000 for now is that we also want the governor to provide infrastructure. We have infrastructure like the rail services.
“We can even put our vehicles at home and enter the rail. It (the minimum wage) is the highest for now.”
The NLC chairperson said the union had been in a dialogue with the government.
“But if there is any state that will declare more than ₦85,000 tomorrow, we will reject that N85,000. We accept it because we have seen that the government is doing so much infrastructure for now. They are providing rail lines and alternative transportation systems.
“We are also dialoguing and discussing with the government on the provision of affordable housing for workers,” she said.
Insisting on why the NLC would may reject the current minimum wage offer, Agnes said, “We want to tell the government that if tomorrow there is any state that declares more than ₦85,000, we will reject it in totality.”
