- As FG, Labour Reach Agreement
By Our Correspondent
Nigerian workers, on Thursday, heaved a sigh of relief as the lingering debate over a new national minimum wage between the Federal Government and Organized Labour finally came to an end with both sides agreeing to N70,000 as minimum wage.
Moments later, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, gave reasons why Organized Labour accepted the proposal by the President, Bola Tinubu, saying that it was due to the president’s assurances that there will be other ‘incentives’.
Breaking the news of the agreement reached with labour, the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris said the agreement was reached at a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), on Thursday, in Abuja.
“We are happy to announce that both the OrganisedLabour and the Federal Government have agreed on an increase on the N62,000 proposal. The new national minimum wage that Mr. President is expected to submit to the National Assembly is N70,000,” an elated Idris told State House correspondents.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, TUC boss, Festus Osifo, Labour Minister, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, and other officials from both sides flanked the minister.
Ajaero confirmed that ₦70,000 was where they were on the issue of the minimum wage.
He also said that part of the discussion was that the minimum wage would no longer wait till after five years to be reviewed. According to him, the agreement was that the minimum wage would now be reviewed every three years.
Ajaero said the Organised Labour would consult with their members on the ₦70,000 benchmark.
“We were here last week. And we are here now. What they have announced in terms of the amount of ₦70,000 happens to be where we are now. But the thing about it is that we will not wait for another five years to come and agree,” Ajaero said.
On her part, Onyejeocha said Tinubu had also directed the Ministers of Finance and Budget, Wale Edun and AtikuBagudu, respectively, to work out modalities on how to settle the issues with the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU).
The “agreement” between the two sides followed a series of talks between labour leaders and the President in the last few weeks after months of failed talks between labour organs and a tripartite committee on minimum wage constituted by the President in January.
The committee, which comprised state and federal governments and the Organised Private Sector, had proposed N62,000 while labour insisted on N250,000 as the new minimum wage for workers who currently earn ₦30,000 as minimum wage.
Labour had said ₦30,000 was unsustainable for any worker going by the economic vagaries of inflation and high cost of living which followed the removal of petrol subsidy by the President.
…Why we accepted N70,000 minimum wage –NLC
Meanwhile, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, on Thursday, gave reasons why the Organized Labour accepted the proposal of N70,000 minimum wage from the President, Bola Tinubu.
Ajaero, who spoke to State House reporters after the meeting with the President, said the unions agreed to the offer because of other incentives attached.
He said another reason for accepting the offer is because “the President promised a review every three years as against what obtained in the past.”
Recall that President Bola Tinubu last week, (Thursday), approved the sum of N70,000 as national minimum wage, his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga said.
