A former President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Peter Esele, has commended the Federal Government and organised labour for finally resolving their differences on the new minimum wage consequential adjustments.

Esele

The government and labour have been at odds over a long-overdue wage review that was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari since April 18 this year.

Both parties could not agree on consequential adjustments on various grades for workers, prompting labour leaders to issue threats of strike repeatedly.

Civil servants in Nigeria have been at the receiving end of a slave-wage, although political office holders in the top oil-exporting nation earn some of the fattest salaries in the world, according to analysts.

• Minimum wage: NECA commends FG, Labour for embracing dialogue

Esele said his commendation was necessary because it was better to jaw-jaw and get a resolution than to war-war to get a resolution.

He said: “This is because we will need each other tomorrow and it is good to avoid a situation where one side will be happy and the other side will be not.”

The veteran unionist said that some people always held the view that labour was all about the strike, disclosing that experience had taught him that the Nigerian labour leadership had not always enjoyed calling workers out for strike. (NAN)

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