*Says ‘Don’t Know If We Were Betrayed Or Deceived’
The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, on Friday insisted that there was an agreement with President Bola Tinubu that there would not be further fuel price increases if they accept a minimum wage of ₦70,000 for Nigerian workers.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise Television’s program The Morning Show, Ajaero who also faulted the presidential initiative on gas powered buses, said the labour leaders were told to choose between accepting ₦70,000 minimum wage with no increase in fuel price or their demand of ₦250,000 and expect fuel price increases.
Ajaero, in his speech, insisted that based on the condition, organized labour settled for ₦70,000 minimum wage.
The NLC president wondered while the new momimum.wahe has not been fully implemented upon which it was based, but now to contend with deteriorating basis, adding that the Organisers labour would soon respond appropriate to the new development.
Pressed to describe the action of government as to whether labour was betrayed, the labour leader responded that, he doesn’t know if betrayed or deceived would be the right word to use in describing the agreement with President Tinubu during negotiations and the subsequent increase in fuel price.
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Ajaero said: “I have to narrate the scenario to you, and then we now choose the appropriate word, whether betrayed, deceived or whatever. While we were discussing because we stalemated at 62,000 Naira, even the states were saying they won’t pay, so there was a stalemate that took us to Mr. President.
“And we insisted on 250 (Thousand Naira) and Mr President at the meeting, turned to me and said, Ajaero, you are the person holding my hand from increasing further.
“I said increase what? He said, since I said subsidy is gone, we should have gotten the appropriate price. We should have increased. I want to sponsor you people, labour, to travel to these West African countries and know how much they are paying.
“Some are paying 2,000 (Naira), 1,800 (Naira), 1700 (Naira). As he announced it, we declined immediately that we are not going to take that sponsorship.
“He said, okay, I will go to my office for one hour. You guys decide if you agree for me to increase, I will pay you 250 (Thousand Naira), if not, you take this 62 (Thousand Naira). He stood up and we said, Mr. President, no, we can’t sit down here to decide in your office, we will take about one week to go back and discuss and get back to you, which was exactly what happened, ask anybody, and we adjourned for one week.
“He said, oh, I’m supposed to travel, but because of you, I will cancel my trip until after one week, and when we, reconvened, we were clear to Mr. President that we didn’t have any mandate to come here to discuss a price of a petroleum product or increase, we’re only here to discuss minimum wage and minimum wage alone we’re going to discuss. And we agreed on the basis of that we accepted 70,000 (Naira).”
On what would be the next line of action with the increase in fuel price, Ajaero said that the organs of the NLC will meet next week to discuss the development, stressing that no single person can decide if a strike would be the response or not as the decision must be taken by the all the organs of the labour movement.
“No NLC President will come out and say, we are going to start strike tomorrow or next tomorrow without the organs meeting. In instances, either the CWC (Central Working Committee) or the NEC (National Executive Council), so we are following that process,” Ajaero said.
Asked whether the Congress has started consultations in-house on that, he said, “By latest next week we should be able to meet and have a conversation around this so that the personal view of the leader (NLC President), does not becloud the position of the of the members.”