A former director general of the Voice of Nigeria, Mr Osita Okechukwu, appealed to Organised Labour to be considerate in their minimum wage demand, adding that the indefinite strike could destablise the economy, and spiral into unintended consequences.
In a statement Sunday, Okechukwu agreed with Organised Labour that the labourer is entitled to living wage, especially in the midst of stagflation and declining living conditions; however he advised labour "to adopt house ownership for every worker as middle ground, to augment the N60,000 offered by government and the private sector."
Okechukwu added that house ownership should be one of the major priorities as it improves living conditions and encourages productivity.
He accordingly called on President Tinubu to as matter of urgent national importance retool his Renewed Hope housing programme and embark on house ownership for all workers nationwide as alternative to unaffordable minimum wage.
"Mr President's house ownership for all workers is the doable middle ground in this impasse, as workers over the years have been contributing 2.5% of their salary to the National Housing Fund; all that is needed is federal, state, LGA and private sector's supplement," Okechukwu opined.
He maintained that the N497,000 is unaffordable, because more than ten states either could not or had blatantly refused to pay N30,000 till date.
"Whereas one agrees with the working people that there is economic hardship and declining standard of living; albeit ownership houses is the middle ground in this impasse and better than more liquid cash which could spiral hyperinflation out of hand and lead to mass retrenchment of workers," Okechukwu further highlighted.
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