By JOAN NWAGWU

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has appealed to the Federal Government to release the payments of wage award for the months of March and April.

Mr Festus Osifo, TUC President, said this during a news conference at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, on Thursday in Abuja.

According to him, the last wage award that was paid to the federal workers was in February and that of March and April, which is just ending is yet to be paid.

“We call the on government to immediately release the payments of wage award for March and April 2024.

“This is to ensure that at the end of the month, when salaries are coming in, the wage award will also be paid and this will be until a new minimum wage is put in place,” he said.

Osifo also expressed concern that while a few states were up and doing regarding the payment of the wage award, some others were not.

He explained that the wage award was fallout of palliative measures to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.

The TUC president said that states like Imo, Delta, Benue, Katsina, Kebbi, Anambra among others were lagging behind, in spite of the huge allocations from the federation account.

According to him, in the next coming days, we will be engaging these states that have done nothing.

Osifo also expressed worry over the unilateral decision by the federal government to increase electricity tariff without consultation with stakeholders.

He, therefore, called on the government to rescind implementation in the interest of the suffering masses.

TUC also decried the level of insecurity in the country, lamenting that farmers could not go to farms for cultivation, for fear of being killed.

He said that unless government tackled the situation head on, the prices of food and other commodities would keep rising beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians.

On the inability of the Port Harcourt refinery to kick off operations by April as promised by the federal government, Osifo said it was part of the reasons for the resurgence of fuel queues in parts of the country.

He urged government to hasten up and actualise it, so as to lessen the economic hardship in the country.

“We urge government to do everything possible to make it operational,” he said.

Osifo also called on the federal government to include labour in the committee currently reviewing the implementation process of Steven Oronsaye Report.

According to him, there is no representation of the organised labour in that committee. We have called on government to incorporate members of organised labour.

“We will not accept any fallout that is not going to impact on our members when they conclude without us.

“So, we demand that we should be included in that committee to also make our recommendations,” he said. (NAN)

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