The Medical
and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has said it would join the
indefinite strike championed by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, over the
controversy trailing the proposed N30,000 new minimum wage.
MHWUN
President, Biobelomoye Josiah, made this known on Monday at a news conference
in Abuja.
He said
members of the union would withdraw their services and consequently shutdown
operations in their various places of work by midnight today in compliance with
the directives issued to affiliate unions by the NLC.
Josiah also
said the government should be held responsible for any hardships that may occur
owing to their withdrawal of services in hospitals nationwide.
He explained
that the tripartite agreement which arrived at the N30,000.00 minimum wage
increment has been jettisoned by the government, adding that the lacked the
political will to review and implement the legitimate demands of the Nigerian
workers:
His words:
“You may recall our National Body, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the
organised labour have called on all workers in Nigeria to gear up for an
indefinite nationwide strike which will commence Mid-night today.
“This is as
a result of the failure to implement the constitutional requiremnt of the
upward review of the national minimum wage which is long over due.
“We call on
our members to remain resolute and be committed to the effective and orderly
implementation of the nationwide strike commencing Tuesday except the
government has a change of heart before then. It’s very obvious that the
N18,000.00 National Minimum wage is no longer feasible and it is a trivialisation
of a living wage.
“The
government should be held responsible for the hardship that might occur (in
hospitals) during the strike which ab initio should have been avoided, if the
right thing had been done.
“Therefore
we call on the government to increase the minimum wage to N30,000 which is a
compromise figure agreed by the government and labour,” he added.
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