Senate President Godswill Akpabio has remarked that his Senate colleagues and members of the House of Representatives are also "labourers."
Akpabio made this statement on Sunday during a closed-door meeting with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and several ministers regarding the planned strike by the unions.
"I hope you know we are also labourers. We are all labourers. We are under you," Akpabio said.
He appealed to the unions to call off the proposed strike for the sake of Nigerians and the nation, acknowledging that negotiations have been prolonged.
"The leadership of both chambers is aware of the tripartite committee established to negotiate with labor on the new minimum wage, considering various factors including the removal of fuel subsidies and the time elapsed since the last wage adjustment.
"We are aware that these negotiations have taken a considerable amount of time. We are aware that the federal government, through President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has instituted a temporary wage increase of N35,000 at the federal level pending the outcome of the new minimum wage negotiations," he stated.
Torizone reports that the NLC and TUC began their strike on Monday due to the federal government's refusal to raise the minimum wage above N60,000. The labor unions are demanding N494,000 from the government.
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