Over one thousand comrades of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, on Wednesday gathered at the National Assembly Complex to protest against the planned amendment of the National Minimum Wage Act.
The Bill which is being sponsored by Hon. Garba Mohammed representing Sabon Gari Federal Constituency, Kaduna State, if passed, may empower states to fix minimum wages as they deem fit, without necessarily adhering to the N30,000 wage benchmark Unity Fountain, Abuja from where they intend to proceed.
The protesters who gathered at the Unity Fountain, Abuja before marching to the NASS, are led by their President, Ayuba Wabba.
Some of the protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as: “On National Minimum Wage We Stand”, “No To Minimum Wage On Concurrent List We Stand”, “Yes To Minimum Wage on Exclusive List”.
Shortly before proceeding to the NASS, Wabba insisted that minimum wage issues are not something to be toyed with, stressing that workers who generate the wealth of the nation, deserves a fair minimum wage.
The NLC is protesting to strongly resist a fresh plot by the National Assembly to review the new national minimum wage, removing it from the Exclusive list, to the Concurrent Iist.
While the leadership of the NLC has accused state governors of being behind the plot, the Bill has already scaled first and second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives.
