In a New Year’s message for 2024, titled “Our hope not renewed yet”, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, along with the union’s Secretary-General, Nuhu Toro, called on the Federal Government to honour all labour agreements made in 2023, particularly those concerning the National Minimum Wage.
Osifo expressed disappointment over the government’s failure to uphold basic agreements with Labour, despite the TUC’s efforts to promote social dialogue in 2023. He highlighted that Labour had demanded the agreements reached on October 2, 2023, be legally recognised by the court.
The statement included: “However, government has serially violated the agreements. For instance, Item two states clearly that: ‘A minimum wage committee shall be inaugurated within one month from the date of this agreement. Today, three months later, no such committee has been set up and this is our experience with this government in at least two previous agreements reached from June.”
Osifo declared that the TUC would insist on the implementation of all labour-government agreements by the Tinubu administration in 2024. This includes the disbursement of the monthly N35,000 wage award to public servants across local government, state, and federal services until a new national minimum wage comes into effect.
President of TUC stressed that a new national minimum wage should be negotiated and implemented promptly, with arrears paid if there are further delays. He also called for a significant reduction in the inflation rate, currently at 28.20%, to align with the sub-Saharan African regional average of 9.4%.
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Osifo criticised the practice of borrowing by state and federal governments, especially when such loans are used for non-essential expenses like buying expensive vehicles for legislators and executive members. He said, “This is especially when these loans only end up being used to purchase thousands of expensive jeeps for legislators, pampered members of the Executive and their spouses, among others.”
He also condemned the government’s policy of devaluing the national currency, which he claimed was causing local industries to collapse due to their need for foreign exchange to import raw materials, leading to hyperinflation in the import-dependent economy.
Osifo called for an end to the street sale of Naira due to the scarcity induced by the Central Bank, suggesting that this could be achieved if the government ensured an adequate supply of Naira notes in the banking system.
He also advocated for a substantial reduction in the price of PMS to mitigate the economic damage and promote local production of refined products.
On the issue of security, Osifo stated that the safety of Nigerians should be the benchmark for determining whether military and security chiefs should retain their positions or be replaced. He urged Tinubu to hold officials accountable for major security breaches, such as the December 2023 massacres in Plateau.
He emphasised the need for prioritising Community Policing and mobilising citizens to protect themselves against bandits and other threats.
Osifo concluded by saying, “The Year 2024 holds a lot of promise for us all provided Nigerians as a people would unite and assert our authority over all powers. These include the Nigerian ruling class manning all branches, levels, institutions and organs of government.” #TUC