Bola Tinubu
Tinubu to pay Nigerian workers higher than N60,000 minimum wage
Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu has committed to a National Minimum wage that is higher than N60,000 for Nigerian workers.
The president’s commitment is contained in the resolutions reached at the meeting between the Federal Government and organised labour on Monday night, 3rd June 2024.
The statement capturing the resolution was signed by Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Joe Ajaero, President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Festus Osifo President, Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The resolution was shared by the Information Minister’s spokesperson, Rabiu Ibrahim.
The organised labour declared a nationwide strike on Monday, 3rd June, 2024 to drive home its demands of a proposed N494,000 minimum wage.
FG’s decision versus NLC
The Federal Government, convened a meeting with Labour at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, on Monday 3rd June.
On the part of the Federal government, it finally resolved to step up its already proposed N60,000 minimum wage.
On labour’s part, they resolved to reconvene with its organs to consider Tinubu’s fresh request.
The resolution partly reads,
“After exhaustive deliberation and engagement by both parties, the following resolutions were reached:
“I. The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria is committed to a National Minimum Wage that is higher than N60,000;
“II. Arising from the above, the Tripartite Committee is to meet every day for the next one week with a view to arriving at an agreeable National Minimum Wage;
“III. Labour in deference to the high esteem of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s commitment in (ii) above undertakes to convene a meeting of its organs immediately to consider this commitment; and
“IV. No worker would be victimized as a result of the industrial action.”
What you should know
Initially, the NLC and TUC proposed a new wage of N615,000 to the federal government. However, after extensive negotiations, the union agreed to a sum of N494,000.
- In contrast, the government insisted on a payment of N60,000, arguing that the union’s proposed amount was unsustainable.
- Additionally, the organized private sector, which was part of the tripartite committee on minimum wage, accepted the government’s proposed sum. As a result, the NLC declared a nationwide strike starting Monday, with no specified end date.
- Labour representatives keep accusing the government of failing to provide substantiated data to support their offer, which further worsened the situation.
- The rift between organized labour and successive governments remains unresolved resulting in legal disputes many times.
