The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) will soon propose a new minimum wage to the federal government following the decline in the value of naira, the Secretary General, Nigerian Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), Comrade Issa Aremu, has said.

Aremu spoke yesterday on the sidelines of a policy dialogue on naira devaluation in Lagos said the current N18,000 is no longer sustainable and the NLC would propose N48,000 as minimum wage.

He said governors and employers of labour who fail to pay salaries should resign and be prosecuted.

He recalled that the first minimum wage was N125 in 1981 when the naira was about twice the value of the dollar and this translated to 250 dollars.

“The minimum wage has declined to 60 dollars. It has to move to N48,000. That is why the NLC is ready to prepare to submit our new proposal and this will be done, I tell you, whether through struggle, we will get that result.

“We are one of the poorest countries in the world. Ghanaians stand better than us. Workers’ wage is to turn the economy around and in spite of that some governors are still not paying as and when due. That’s why I said any governor or any employer that doesn’t pay salaries should resign and not only that, he should be prosecuted because the Nigerian constitution is very clear that they should pay salaries as at when due,” he said.

He said it was high time Nigeria began to consume what is produced locally in order to reduce reliance on foreign exchange and provide employment for the unemployed.

•Text courtesy of Daily Trust. Photo shows Issa Aremu.