The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of abandoning the agreement of a monthly payment of N35,000 to workers, which was agreed upon with labour leaders in October 2023. The federal government and organized labour had agreed to pay N35,000 monthly to workers for six months to help ease the impact of fuel subsidy removal. However, the TUC has claimed that workers only received the payment once, despite having the revenue to pay.
TUC President, Festus Osifo, speaking on AriseTV, said that the government has stopped the promised six-month wage award payment after the first payment was made. Osifo stated that the government could have called the other party and sat down together to find a solution if they were finding it difficult to implement the agreement. However, the TUC believes that the government has the revenue to pay but lacks the will to do so.
Osifo pointed out that the government had not notarised the 10-point agenda that the TUC had presented to the government, which was eventually agreed with. The last point in that agreement was that it would be a consent judgement, but up till now, that has not been done.
The TUC demands listed in the 10-point agenda came about as they considered the suffering of the average Nigerian due to high rising prices caused by inflation, the removal of fuel subsidies, and other economic challenges. The government must sit down, buckle its belt, and address the issues that are affecting Nigerians.