Labour Unions Blame APC, FG for Rising Poverty Levels, Suicide Cases

Labour Unions Blame APC, FG for Rising Poverty Levels, Suicide Cases

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its ally union, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Sunday both blamed the rising incidence of poverty and despair across the country on the federal government and the ruling party.

The NLC in a new year statement issued on Sunday, described 2017 as a very difficult year for Nigerians, noting that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government ruined Nigerians and pushed more workers into poverty and wretchedness.

It stated that the deplorable economic conditions in 2017 were captured by the statistics recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics which indicated that over four million Nigerians lost their jobs in 2017.

He added that the APC government had chastised and ruined Nigerians through its policies, which he claimed had the biggest negative effect on workers.

“Rather than work to create jobs and improve the conditions of workers and Nigerians in general, leading elements in the ruling APC government, like Governor Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna state), have been taking measures to further chastise and ruin Nigerians by throwing tens of thousands of workers into the already saturated unemployment market and wretchedness,” Wabba said.

Commenting on the proposed increment in the national minimum wage, Wabba expressed the hope that upon completion of negotiations, the National Assembly would give the executive bill that will emerge, an accelerated passage for the new national minimum wage to become a reality before the end of the 3rd quarter of 2018.

The NLC also urged the government to do better at fighting corruption and finding a lasting solution to problems in Nigeria’s petroleum and power sectors.