New labour union, setback for new minimum wage struggle –Leaders

Some labour leaders have said formation of a new labour union will be a major setback to realising demands for a new national minimum wage in the country.
The leaders  said this to the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), in Abuja, yesterday.
Late last year, 25 industrial unions elected Mr Joe Ajaero, president of the United Labour Congress (ULC), after a two-year internal crisis in the Labour Congress (NLC).
Some leaders in the labour movement, however, expressed mixed views in achieving the new  minimum wage in the present crcumstances.
President, Nigeria Union of Postal and Telecommunication Employees (NUPTE), Mr Sunday Alhassan, described the new labour centre as a “very sad story.”
Alhassan said formation of the new labour centre could be a major setback to achieving the agitation for the proposed national minimum wage for workers.
“The Federal Government might take advantage of this, by telling them that their house is not united or this or that is not recognised.
“This means that the process of achieving the new minimum wage will keep dragging just because of their misgivings and their anger towards what happened in 2015.
“If you look at it, five to six years have come and gone since the last National  Minimum Wage Act was reviewed and it is due for another review, yet, we have not been able to come up with anything due to disagreements.
Also, Senior Assistant General Secretary, Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Mr Bunmi Ogunkolade, told NAN that having two or more labour centres would create delay in giving due benefits to workers.
He said if there were more than one or two labour centres in the country, rather than strengthen the labour movement it would weaken it and called on promoters of ULC to have a rethink as workers and Nigerians would suffer immensely due to the action.
Also, President, National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE),  Lateef Oyelekan, said the decision to create another labour centre would affect the way and manner government would handle  labour issues.
“If it is because they lost an election and cannot concede to the loss , it is very sad. At this point in time, we do not need a divided house because workers are already oppressed, one way or the other. Their actions will further bring hardship to Nigerian workers in terms of lack of payment of salaries, new minimum wage overdue, among others. How can you, after putting much effort to build a house and you now want to use your own hands to destroy it, without showing concern for those the roof will fall upon?Workers need one voice, one movement, to stand by them right now and not a divided house,” Oyelekan added.
However, Amechi Asugwuni, President, National Union of Civil Engineering, Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), said ULC was a welcome development.
“There is nothing wrong in having two, three or even four labour centres in the country.
They will all be fighting towards achieving one goal for workers and Nigerians, in terms,” he said.
of mounting more pressure on government,’’ he said.