Labour seeks pay rise for Lagos workers

By Victor Ahiuma-Young & Daniel Emeribe

LAGOS — LAGOS council of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, weekend, called on the Lagos State government to immediately review upward the remuneration of its workers  in the face of worsening hardship and economic situation in the country.

State Chairman of TUC, Comrade Bello David, who spoke at the Lagos State delegate conference argued that the Lagos State workers’ salaries should compare favourably with similar cities in the world.

He argued that Lagos  being the highest Internally Generated Revenue state in the country should be in position to guarantee a good remuneration for workers.

According to him, “as a genuine social partner embedded in the organised labour movement, we shall be failing in our responsibility if we maintain conspirational silence on a few noticeable paths which the state ought to take to actualise its mission for greater heights.

“This is against the background that Lagos is the highest working/toiling people’s dominated state in the country and as tax payers, the Lagos working class strongly believes that “whom much is given, much would be expected.

“We are thus apt to unequivocally state that the TUC expects that as the state with the highest Internally Generated Revenue, Lagos State workers should be second to none in terms of their remuneration and other emoluments. Lagos State workers’ take-home pay must be at par with workers in other capital/commercial cities of the world.”

Comrade David also implored Governor Fashola to pursue with uncompromising vigour, the construction of affordable, massive urban housing projects for workers in view of challenges of mobility they face daily.