 You're still watching the breakfast on Plans TV Africa. It's time for our first hot topic. And as we take this first hot topic, we'll be taking a look at the state of the Nigeria labor market as the world marks workers day-to-day. And our guest is Mrs. Fumi Sessi. She's a chairman, Nigeria Labor Congress, legacy chapter. Good morning, madam. Hello, Mrs. Sessi. Yes, please, I can hear you. All right, good morning. All right, good morning to you and welcome to the program. Thank you so much. Happy workers day to you. And you too, you're workers, we are workers. Yes, let me start by congratulating you on your reelection in March. Thank you. So, let's start with, first of all, let us establish the fact that we're gonna ask you questions even beyond Lagos state. Is that agreed upon? Okay, but at least we have to make it very brief because I have a limited time. I need to be at the stadium right now so that everything will be in Tokyo and I will be there to receive Mr. Governor to the stadium. All right, so recently you commanded the Lagos state government for the 20% pay rise for Lagos state workers. You did that a few days ago. So let's talk about the 40% pay rise for workers by the federal government which has excluded some people. Explain to us the nature of this pay rise. Is it part of their salaries and why were those people excluded? Can you explain that to us? Thank you very much. You know, when the federal government announced the 40% pay rise, they tried to attach it to the removal of waste of city and at the end of the, at the long run, the federal government came out again to state that they are, you know, holding back or the removal of waste of city for now. And they still went ahead and implemented the 40% payment and not only that they paid areas from January to March. That 40% it should be taken as a palliative because when you have to look at the salaries of the workers, the last number was increased in 2019 and we're due for a negotiation or review of this current salary in next year. It's after five years with this economic reality after the pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic after the war at Ukraine that has affected barely every nation in the world and the economic reality on ground. The federal government and the employers of labor does not have a choice than to increase the salaries of the workers because the inflation rise of up to 24% has taken the joy away from the workers. The 30,000 minimum wage could no longer take care of the workers again. So the federal government has done that but that 40% is only to the mainstream workers on countess and want to use this opportunity of the workers' day celebration to remind the government that it's not only the workers at the mainstream that is stealing the ground and bringing the wealth of the nation but across agencies, sectors, parasitters, workers are there working day and night to ensure that Nigeria continue to exist and the same market where those workers in the mainstream goes to is the same market where all these other workers also go to. Particularly of nation is the 20% gift because of the situation of the economic realities in Lagos state. Mr. Governor in Nisou Magnanimity increases the salaries of the workers in the state. We appreciated him for that but the reality on ground now is that he has... Hello. It looks like we lost that audio. I hope it's a temporary thing. All right, we're just having a discussion with... Okay, Mrs. Sassy. Please do continue from where you start. From the governor of Lagos state. We know that the governor is going to do better. The 40,000 Naira, I mean the 40% rise from the federal government because... Hello. Some factors. The factors, the rents, factor about accommodation, factor about transportation, factor about the feeding. Everything Lagos is a city. All right, apart from this... Yes, apart from this 20% and 40% increase, which are, as you've said, are not enough. What are the other things? I'm Mr. Governor. Hello. Of transportation, accommodation, feeding and some other antecedents that make Lagos to be a special state where we have those factors that we have to consider to make Lagos state government to perform better than the federal government. Because if the federal government is paying 40% across God in state like Oyo, like Ogun, like Elugu, like Emo state, you have to think about a special payment for the workers in Lagos state. Lagos workers, they deserve more because of the extra strength. Yes, indeed Lagos workers deserve more. Now, apart from this 20%, what other things can you say Lagos workers and indeed Nigerian workers have to celebrate as we mark workers' day 2023? Looks like we've lost that odour again. Well, it's unfortunate. We should be celebrating workers' day with good internet as well, with good light as well, with good everything. And it's unfortunate that we're having these issues. The MCC should do something about communication in this country because... All right, she's back. I'm told that she's back. Hello, Mrs. Sasti. Yes, please. You seem to be breaking up. They can be transmission. Yeah, very unfortunate there. But I was asking just before that breaking transmission that apart from this 20% and 40%, what are the things that Nigerian workers in Lagos and indeed the whole of Nigeria are celebrating or should be celebrating in this year 2023 workers' day? Okay, thank you so much. Let me appreciate the Governor of Lagos State before I place all our, you know, some of our requests in his front. To who much is given much is also, you know, deserved. This, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babaji De Olu Sholasson Olu is a listening governor. He's a governor that has a human feeling in his heart. He's always operating an open door policy. And most times when we go there for some demands, he's always quick, you know, to listen to us and to yield to most of our demands. So we give kudos to the governor for that. I don't know. In some other clients, sometimes when there's an emergency, you call 911 and the medical personnel just puts you through things that you need to do in case of emergency to save someone's life. What if that were the case happening right now and the network just goes on? Okay, she's back. Hello, Mrs. Sesse. It's serious. I said we have appreciated the governor for many things that he's been doing for us and he will still do for us and he has promised to do for the workers in Lagos State. We are going to put our demands across to him. Don't let me preempt and don't let me state it here before and we have to present it to Mr. Governor. Let's wait until we get to the stadium before we start rolling out our demands. But one of the demands, not only for the workers but also for legations generally, these days we see young people, middle-aged peoples, they stop and they die. It is not that some of them they have health issues or health factors. It is because of the stress they face in Lagos, most especially the stress on our road. You can't imagine you are transmitting within the state. Lagos to Lagos and you are spending 10 hours, five hours, six hours. This is having a toll on our health. We want to use this medium to appeal to federal government. They are the ones doing the federal road and it's causing issues and troubles. We are losing manned hours on the road. Our health is also being compromised because of this serious traffic, log jam on our roads in Lagos. You won't believe it. You are going to work, you spend five hours, you are already stressed and tensed before you get to work. You still have to do your bit and then when you are going back home again, you don't even know when you are going to get in home or whether you are getting home. And you live right in Lagos. We use this opportunity. Workers are appealing to federal government. To, you know, as if they are giving out contracts or work to construction company, there should be alternatives to those roads. There should be alternative for God's sake. There should be movement. We don't even know if there is going to be any emergency. People will die and so many lives have been lost. This is one demand and this is one request that is general that I want to ask before we get to the stadium. But when we get to the stadium, all other requests will be on food as Mr. Govno arrives. Thank you so much. Thank you very much, Mrs. Sessi, for coming on the show. And we wish you a very, very happy May Day celebration. Thank you so much. Okay, we've been talking with Mrs. Fumi Sessi, the chairman of Nigeria Labor Congress, Lagos State Chapter, and she's been telling us there are a lot of things that government has done. We give kudos to the government if they really have done that. But all the other demands that the labor might have for the government, maybe we just ask also that they be looked into. Because when it's good for one person, it trickles down to a lot of other people. We'll take a short break now and when we return, we'll be taking our next hot topic. Stay with us.