The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, has rejected the N70,000 national minimum wage, which was recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The members of NUP in the South West zone on Thursday said the N70000 was no longer realistic due to the recent increase in the price of premium motor spirit, PMS, otherwise called petrol.
In a communique issued at the end of their zonal meeting held in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, they urged the labour union to renew demand for N250,000 minimum wage because of the current economic realities.
Dr Olusegun Abatan, the NUP Southwest Publicity Secretary, who read the communique to newsmen, the NUP also noted that the implementation of local government autonomy should not disrupt the payment of pensions of council pensioners/retired primary school teachers and salaries of local government workers/primary school teachers.
“We found out that before the N70,000 was even implemented, the Federal Government has gone ahead to further increase the price of petrol, and we concluded that the two labour centres that went into that negotiation went there blindfolded and naïve,” Abatan said.
“The Federal Government took advantage of the naivety and inexperience of Comrade Joe Ajaero, and Festus Usifo, by tricking them into accepting N70,000 and that it would not increase fuel price, but no sooner they agreed to kowtow what was said about N70,000, the Federal Government went ahead to increase fuel price.
“To that extent, the Southwest is rejecting the N70,000 minimum wage that Labour has negotiated and advised that Labour should go back to the negotiating table and insist on the N250,000 they initially wanted.
“Before you know it, the N2,000 that the Federal Government said it was going to increase the fuel price to will eventually emerge. Labour should go back. The value of the N70,000 is just about 60 litres of fuel.
“Labour should go back to negotiate N250,000 minimum wage. They have our backing on whatever is involved, even strike to achieve a realistic minimum wage.”