By Giwa SHILE
FCT Residents on Monday called for a conclusive dialogue between the Federal Government and the Organised Labour to prevent the impending strike over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage.
Some of residents, spoke in Abuja, said that labour and government should reach a compromise to avert the proposed strike.
Mr Ahans Nwabueze, a Contractor, pleaded with the government to be sensitive to the plight of workers in order to ensure amicable settlement on the issue.
“There is nothing you cannot achieve with dialogue; they can both resolve on a particular amount, strike a balance between the two parties.
“Both the government and labour can decide on making the minimum wage N28,000 instead of N30,000, which is a little to the right and a little to the left so that non would be affected.”
Mrs Otung Theresa, a business woman, also pleaded with labour that the strike issue should be avoided or resolved as soon as possible.
Theresa said that it’s been hard to sponsor her children to school or even to feed them properly.
“These days, we eat what we see and not what we want, which is contrary to the normal phrase of eating quality food.
“Let this government move so that another would can take over and let’s see if this country would be better,“ she said
Also speaking, Damisa Usman, a Civil Servant, said that based on the court order the strike was not meant to hold.
“Labour union and government are still deliberating, however, if there is no meaningful outcome in today’s meeting, the strike is still going to hold.
“I don’t think the N30, 000 is not realistic because the government is looking at the ability of the state to pay, “ he said.
The Federal Government has settled for 24,000 while the state government has agreed for N22, 500, but NLC was insisting on N30, 000 as the new minimum wage.
