FG, Labour Talks Hit Deadlock As NLC Insists N615, 000 Demand

Nigerians celebrated the International day for workers but the celebration was greeted by a lot of demands for a new minimum wage increment following the harsh economic reality facing the country.

The ongoing negotiations for a new minimum wage between the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Federal government have hit a deadlocked following the inability to reach a consensus.

The labour are demanding for N615, 000 increment but the President Bola Tinubu in his speech during this year’s International Workers’ Day celebration in Abuja, on Wednesday faulted workers’ insistence on the  N615,000 minimum wage. 

But the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, defended workers’ demand, insisting that the organised labour would not accept any amount that would impoverish its members.

Last month, the two central labour bodies in the country, the NLC and the Trade Unions Congress, submitted a proposal of N615,000 minimum wage to the committee.

The government failed to announce the new minimum wage at the May Day celebration on Wednesday as it had not accepted labour’s demand.

NLC president, Ajaero, during an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, said the proposed N615,000 minimum wage was arrived at after an analysis of the current economic situation and the needs of an average Nigerian family of six.

He said the last minimum wage of N30,000 expired on April 18.

He added,  “The Federal Government through the National Assembly legislated on it. But we saw that the discussion entered voice mail because the Federal Government refused to reconvene the meeting that was adjourned.

“I think the announcement now appears mischievous because there is no wage increase that the government is announcing. For them to announce it now, it is an issue that we are worried about at the NLC and even at the TUC.”

“This shall be resolved soon and I assure you that your days of worrying are over. Indeed, this government is open to the committee’s suggestion of not just a minimum wage but a living wage,” he stated.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity earlier, Tinubu affirmed that his administration remained committed to improving the welfare of all workers through various relief programmes including the wage award and the imminent minimum wage review..

“President Tinubu strongly believes that the custodians of the nation’s machinery deserve a fair wage and enhanced welfare and that a labourer is deserving of not just any reward but fair and commensurate wages.

“The President assures Nigerian workers of his dedication to not only improving their welfare but also enhancing their working conditions and providing the necessary tools for them to succeed,” the statement read.