NLC troubled over workers’ high cost of maintenance

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has publicly expressed its worry over workers’ high cost of living and the low value of their salaries.Wabba Ayuba, the Labour president, voiced this concern at the weekend in Asaba, in a television programme, “People and Society.”Ayuba said the situation mirrored the failure of the country’s leadership.“With the high cost of living, inflation and static sundry expenses, the average Nigerian worker is living in constant poverty,” he said.He explained that the situation had created a high cost of education and good healthcare, making it highly difficult for the average Nigerian to make appreciable progress.The leader of the group went ahead to cite Kogi State where workers were being owed 12 months’ salary, adding that it was criminal for government to owe its workers and expect them to continue to go to work.Ayuba said that the “no work, no pay” policy that government applied under many labour disputes might not apply in this case.He condemned the delay in Kogi workers’ salaries and other states due to alleged unending staff verification, while sadly noting that a substantial number of private sector workers have been sacked as a result of the country’s harsh business environment.