BREAKING:We Can’t Pay Proposed N60,000 Minimum Wage – Governors

The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has said that the federal government’s proposal of N60,000 as the minimum wage for workers is not sustainable.

A statement issued on Friday by Halimah Salihu Ahmed, director of media and public affairs for NGF, quoted the governors as saying that the proposed minimum wage of N60,000 “cannot fly at all’’.

Grassroots Parrot had reported how the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Monday embarked on indefinite strike action after rejecting the federal government’s N60,000 offer as the minimum wage.

The unions later relaxed the industrial action for one week to give room for further negotiations with the federal government, which had promised to increase the wage from N60,000.

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Reacting to the development, the governors said the N60,000 wage is not realistic and unsustainable.

They argued that if implemented, it would force some states in the country to borrow to pay workers’ salaries.

The statement reads in part, “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is in agreement that a new minimum wage is due. The Forum also sympathises with labour unions in their push for higher wages.

“However, the Forum urges all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners.

“The NGF cautions parties in this important discussion to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.

“All things considered, the NGF holds that the N60,000 minimum wage proposal is not sustainable and can not fly. It will simply mean that many states will spend all their FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes.

“In fact, a few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month. We do not think this will be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.

“We appeal that all parties involved, especially the labour unions, consider all the socioeconomic variables and settle for an agreement that is sustainable, durable, and fair to all other segments of the society who have legitimate claim to public resources.”