Minimum Wage: Organized Labour Settles For Less

On Thursday, the Leadership of Organized Labour (NLC) the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, and the Minimum wage tripartite committee ended the long struggle for a new minimum wage for the Workforce.

The federal government and the labor leaders reached an agreement to pay 70,000 as the new minimum wage, putting to rest what has been a long struggle to arrive at the new minimum wage.

 Earlier on the tripartite committee had submitted two figures in its report to Mr. President of disagreement between the government, the private sector, and organized labor.

The Labour leaders had been insistent on the award of N250,000 as the new minimum wage, against N62,000 offered by the federal government and the private sector.

Addressing Newsmen at the State House Yesterday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated that the president agreed to pay N70,000 as opposed to the initial N62,000. He stated further that the labor leaders and Mr. President had a closed-door meeting last week, after which they asked for an adjournment by one week to consult with other key stakeholders, before accepting the offer on the ground today.

While announcing that agreement, the minister informed that the president assured of his commitment to providing the needed infrastructure for the massive economic development of the country, with key investment in renewable energy.

The president also promised to review the minimum wage in line with the economic realities of citizens every three years.

Also, the minister of State for Labour Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, disclosed that the president has directed the ministers of Finance, economy, and the minister of budget and economic planning to ensure that outstanding owed to SSANU and NASU are cleared in due course, to avoid disruption of academic activities in the country.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Reps, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has assured that the house will ensure the quick passage and implementation of the new minimum wage bill.

In another development, the NLC president Comrade Joe Ajaero, expressed mixed feelings over reasons for their acceptance of the new minimum wage, according to him “We were here last week and we’re here now. What has been announced in terms of the amount of N70,000 happened to be where we are now. But the good thing about it is that we will not wait for another five years to come for review.

Rather, than settling on a figure that we wait for five years, is like we’ll have to now negotiate even two times within the five years, to go up. That is one of the reasons, you know, we decided to reach where we are today because of the provision that ‘you can review in the next three years.

The Other, we came up with other issues in the basket, like the issue of SSANU, NASU, and others, especially with the affront by the FCT commissioner of Police, we brought it to Mr. President and talked about the need for that matter to be addressed.

In another development, The Punch has reported that the organized private sector, OPS, warned that its members will not be able to pay N70,000 new national minimum wage announced by the Federal Government without support.

Reacting to the news of the president’s approval of N70,000 as the new national minimum wage, the organized private sector of Nigeria, OPSN appreciates the Federal government’s move to end the lingering negotiation.

The spokesperson of the OPS, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, Said “While we commend the president for putting to rest the immediate issue of the national minimum wage, we also note, most importantly, his commitment to support the sub-nationals and organized private sector to pay the new wage.

Part of the support requested includes the reversal of the increase in electricity tariffs, CBN redemptions of all outstanding forwards for companies in the productive sector, a freeze on the introduction of new taxes and levies on businesses for the next five years, duty exemption on imported conversion kits and government subsidy on procurement of same, amongst other concerns raised by the organized private sector.