The leadership of the organised labour in Nigeria has been advised to shelve the planned nationwide strike scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, June 3, 2024.
The call was made by a legal expert and business consultant, Mr Chyma Anthony, in a press release made available to DAILY POST on Sunday in Abuja.
This is also as he declared that the minimum wage being pushed by organized labour would further reduce the purchasing power of the Naira.
He said that the action would spell doom for the Nigerian economy.
Chyma contended that the new minimum wage pushed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of N494,000 would further push the Nigerian economy into the bottom of hyper inflation, as the purchasing parity of Nigerians would worsen from hike in the prices of goods and services.
He urged the labour organisations to push for a reduction in energy prices, especially petrol, cooking gas, kerosene, and diesel, which were the key drivers of the local economy.
He said asking for higher wages would come with a hyper price increase in essential commodities, which would make the impacts of the new minimum wage useless.
“With the current economic reality in Nigeria, organised labour should press on the federal government to fix the refinery and ensure that the price of key energies in the country drop and by such, the impact on the lives of Nigerians will be significant, especially as it affects workers and businesses across the nation.
“I must say that a price reduction in PMS is capable of forcing down prices of goods and commodities across all sectors of the Nigerian state.
“Also, I expect labour to mount pressure on the federal government to reduce insecurity in the country to a minimum level so as to allow farmers go back to their farms and businesses in the hinterlands instead of demanding a huge new minimum wage that clearly and sincerely government cannot afford, and this will further exacerbate the condition of Nigerians,” Anthony said.
He further stated that the leadership of the National Assembly should, as a matter of urgency, proffer solutions and modalities to strength governance.
“The legislature must also work with the executive to fix the economy.
“Our refineries should be made to work. Manufacturing and production must be a top priority now,” he noted, adding that the Naira must be supported by encouraging made in Nigeria products against the current penchant for foreign goods.
New minimum wage proposal: No guarantee for purchasing power – Lawyer, Chyma cautions labour