NLC Acts After Reports Say Tinubu’s Government Is Offering N60,000 as a New Minimum Wage
The administration of President Bola Tinubu previously stated that it was unable to pay Nigerian workers N615,000 because of its bloated workforce. According to recent reports, the federal government has increased its minimum wage offer from N57,000 to N60,000 for workers. However, Tinubu’s most recent offer was rejected by Joe Ajaero’s NLC and its counterpart, TUC, who decreased their demand to N494,000.
Tuesday, May 28, saw organized labor reject a new minimum wage proposal from the federal Government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The federal government’s offer to pay N60,000 as the new minimum wage was turned down by the leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
According to Channels TV, organized labor also changed its position from N497,000 to N494,000.
A notable participant in the tripartite committee tasked with negotiating a new minimum wage for Nigerian laborers revealed that the organized private sector and the federal government had suggested an N60,000 monthly minimum wage, instead of the N57,000 they had suggested at the committee’s previous meeting last week.
The labor unions bemoaned the fact that not all governors were paying the current wage award, which expired in April 2024, five years after former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Minimum Wage Act of 2019, claiming that the current minimum wage of N30,000 could no longer support the well-being of the average Nigerian worker.
The new government offers were deemed “unsubstantial” by NLC President Joe Ajaero.
“It is still insignificant in comparison to what we require to relocate as a family.” “The workers’ economy is completely shattered. Actually, there is no economy among the workers. The bourgeoisie’s economy and the worker’s economy, in my opinion, are the two main economies in the nation. To establish a meeting place, I believe we need to harmonize this,” Ajaero remarked.
The presidency calls the labor union’s N497,000 demand irrational.
The federal government stated that it was not prepared to accept the N497,000 minimum wage that organized labor wanted, calling it impractical, according to a story published on Monday, May 27.
Speaking about the development, Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special assistant on information and strategy, pointed out that the federal and state governments both had an overworked labor force.
Recall that at the most recent tripartite conference, the government and the business sector raised their offer to N57,000. The organized labor (NLC and TUC) had initially demanded a minimum wage of N615,000, but had subsequently lowered it to N500,000 and then N497,000.
