The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has declared that the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) will join the indefinite strike in response to the controversy surrounding 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 shut down 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 they 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 Midnight today.
“This is a result of the failure to implement the constitutional requirement of the upward review of the national minimum wage, which is long overdue.
“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.
