May 22, (THEWILL) – Organised Labour has adjusted its initial request of N615,000 new minimum wage for workers to N497,000.
The new demand, presented by the union on Wednesday, at the resumption of talks during a meeting of the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage, came as part of efforts by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to facilitate progress and ensure prompt resolution of negotiations.
THEWILL reports that the meeting of the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage continued on Wednesday, following the inability of parties to reach a consensus on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s session came on the heels of last week’s meeting during which the unions walked out when offered N48,000. However, at the resumed meeting on Tuesday, the Federal Government upped the ante by stepping up to a N54,000 offer, a decision Labour reportedly rejected and stood its ground on what it called N615,000 living wage.
However, a source at Wednesday’s meeting said the Federal Government team remained adamant about N54,000, complaining of the non-availability of funds and the inability of the private sector to pay, adding that the private sector has made additional N3,000, taking up its offer to N57,000 from the initial N54,000.
“Government has agreed that NLC is using evidence-based presentation. But they argue that eight states are not paying or not fully implementing the 2019 minimum wage. Government is talking of non-availability of fund. They are also talking about the inability of the private sector to pay. Labour has been requested to shift in response to the Government. They complied and came down to N497,000.
“The Imo State Governor has stepped in. He is not a member of the committee but it is good that there is at least a Governor, as the six Governors in the committee have been regularly absent,” the source said.
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