LIVE UPDATES
As the negotiation for the minimum wage between labour and the federal government heightened, Organised Labour has said it will not accept anything less than N100,000 as minimum wage.
Some top members of the union said federal government should not expect labour to accept anything less than a hundred thousand.
The unions said the government was not serious about the negotiations, adding that the shift from N48,000 to N57,000 was too meagre to be considered as ‘shifting grounds’.
They noted that the promise made by President Bola Tinubu when he became President and on Workers’ Day was that the Federal Government would pay a living wage, adding that N57,000 did not fall into that category.
The sources also noted that they were going to have a national executive council meeting on Monday in preparation for the meeting with the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage on Wednesday for further negotiations of the workers’ living wage.
“Well, during the meeting, the government increased its offer from N48,000 to N54,000. However, labour rejected that offer, and the meeting has been adjourned till Wednesday,” a source, who asked not to be named, said.
When asked whether the government’s side was showing any sign of seriousness, the labour leader said, “No seriousness at all. Even state governors did not show up. Those who represented them, like Bauchi and Niger states, did not have the mandate to speak on their behalf.
“As regards the private sector, we did not get to them before the meeting was adjourned but we hope they also increase their initial offer.”
The National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, had insisted on N615,000 minimum wage, arguing that the amount was arrived at after an analysis of the current economic situation and the needs of an average Nigerian family of six.
He blamed the government and the OPS for the breakdown in negotiation, saying, “Despite earnest efforts to reach an equitable agreement, the less than reasonable action of the Government and the Organised Private Sector has led to a breakdown in negotiations.”
In a statement released at the end of the jointly held NEC meeting by the NLC and TUC which was signed by Ajaero, and the TUC President, Festus Osifo, the unions said they acknowledged the ongoing negotiations between the NLC/TUC, the OPS and the Federal Government regarding the new national minimum wage.
Speaking on the breakdown in negotiation, the Financial Secretary of the NLC, Hakeem Ambali, said the percentage of the ground shifting by Organised Labour had been substantial, moving from N615,000 to N497,000.
The source said, “They haven’t even brought the N100,000 that the experts they consulted have recommended. Anything less than N100,000 is an insult to us as workers.”
