Protesting workers under the aegis of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, on Tuesday held road users on the Maryland-Ikeja axis to ransom as they complied with the directive to protest the non transmission of the new minimum wage bill to the National Assembly.
The protest, which started as early 7 a.m., began from Maryland, to the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, left many commuters stranded at various bus stop on Ikorodu road, down to Alausa, Ikeja.
The workers carried placards with various writings, some of which read; place politicians and workers on the same living wage salary structure.”
The leadership of labour called the strike over government’s delay in submitting the N30,000 minimum wage report agreed by the tripartite committee.
The Vice President of NLC in Lagos, Solomon Adelegan, addressing the workers said that the current demand for a new minimum wage had gone beyond negotiation stage.
He assured them labour will not relent until the report of the new minimum wage was passed to the National Assembly for implementation.
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Adelegan insisted that the protest was not political but “to hand over a letter to Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, to further communicate with the Governors’ Forum on the agreed minimum wage.”
General Secretary, Joint Action Front, JAF, Abiodun Aremu, on his part said that the N30,000 minimum wage was not negotiable, noting that the Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, would support the labour till the new minimum wage was implemented.
The workers however got displeased when on getting to the State Secretariat they were told by a Special Adviser to Gov. Ambode, Benjamin Adeyinka, that the Adeyinka governor was not available.
Shouting the adviser down, they insisted that the gate should be opened and would not allow him to speak further.
