“Come to talk about the attitude of the lawmakers towards workers, I can only say that they are influenced by the attitude of their master, Soludo, towards workers.
“How has Soludo treated workers since he came aboard? The issue of poor pay has been on the front burner, but recently, Soludo invited Labour leaders and schooled them thoroughly like pupils and they came out to agree that he is actually right by paying them N24,000 as salary, instead of the current N30,000 national minimum wage.
“He even bamboozled them with calculations that minimum wage is calculated by net wage, not gross, and they all clapped for him and came to face the media.
“I fear that if the federal government approves a new minimum wage, Soludo who has shown aversion for workers’ welfare will not pass it, and he will be aided by the current state assembly which is also not so workers’ friendly.”
Labour on its part has come down hard on the state Assembly, especially Hon Muobike for the recent attack.
A statement jointly signed by the state secretaries of NLC and TUC, Comrades, Gaius Chukuka and Alex C. Ebi (a lawyer), respectively, described the lawmaker’s behaviour as weird.
The workers’ statement read in part: “The Organized Labour Anambra State wishes to set the record straight on what transpired between the organized Labour Anambra state and House of Assembly members on the 3rd day of June, 2024.
“Before now, Organized Labour was silent on the dehumanizing utterances of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Lawmaker representing Aguata 2 Constituency, Hon Anthony Muobike who we all knew how he ascended into the House of Assembly until we started reading thrash on the social media for his indefensible act on aggrieved Anambra workers.
“His immature attitude shows the disconnect between him and his Constituency. Without cause he callously accused Anambra workers as not deserving a minimum wage and could be replaced by Robots.
“The question was, were the workers protesting against Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the state governor he was allegedly defending? He is totally dishonorable and lacking all the qualities of a Lawmaker in modern times to have uttered such gutter words.
“The organized labour in Anambra State were on a peaceful monitoring to ensure total compliance that all public offices were closed, but on getting to the Anambra House of Assembly complex, we discovered that there were activities going on in the complex with their access gate wide open.
“The problem started when the members of the congress were chanting a solidarity song demanding that the complex should be shut down as Anambra State is not an exception. We were surprised over the reaction of Hon. Anthony Muobike.
“Why threaten workers led by their leaders with physical violence? It shows his level of intolerance and toutish behaviour in the face of people with genuine demands and a nationwide protest.
“It is quite unfortunate and if Hon. Anthony Muobike is honourable as claimed, he should be apologizing to Nigerians and workers of Anambra State over his sabotage on the struggle of the labour unions to elevate hardship on Nigerians.”
Another commentator, Mr Tony Okafor said: “Muobike’s comments, suggesting that workers do not deserve a minimum wage and can be replaced by robots, are not only callous but also dehumanizing.
“His threat of physical violence against union leaders is a disturbing display of aggression and intolerance.
It is unacceptable for a lawmaker to resort to such behavior, especially when faced with legitimate grievances from workers fighting for their rights.
“Muobike’s rhetoric is a slap in the face to the hardworking men and women who keep our society running. It perpetuates a harmful narrative that workers are expendable and disposable, and that their struggles are insignificant.
“This kind of language has no place in our public discourse, especially from someone in a position of power and the ruling party (APGA) in the state.
“To say the least, Muobike’s psyche on that occasion was incongruous. We call on Hon. Muobike to apologize for his hurtful comments and to engage in constructive dialogue with the labour union leaders.”
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