The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says President Bola Tinubu agreed to a N250,000 minimum wage proposal on the condition that the pump price of petrol would be increased.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on
Thursday, Joe Ajaero, NLC president, said labour leaders rejected the
president’s condition because it would exacerbate the current hardship.
On Thursday, Tinubu approved N70,000 as the new minimum wage
for workers.
The approval was announced after Tinubu met with Ajaero and
Festus Osifo, president of the TUC, at the presidential villa in Abuja.
The federal government will send a minimum wage bill to the
national assembly next week.
Speaking on the development, Ajaero said labour leaders
accepted the N70,000 offer because of the other benefits attached, and the
three-year review period.
“Accepting N70,000 was the best way to make sure that we
save Nigerians from further hardship,” Ajaero said.
“At the last meeting,
the president brought a proposal that ‘I will give you guys N250,000, if you
allow me to equally increase the pump price of petroleum products’ and we said
no that we need to go and consult.
“Today, we went there to tell him ‘no’ and that the labour
movement can make sacrifices without allowing Nigerians to suffer further on
the increase of pump price of petroleum products.”
The NLC president said the current minimum wage regime
became invalid on April 18, 2024, and that government will pay the arrears when
a new wage regime kicks in.
BACKGROUND
Over the past few months, federal and state governments, organised
labour, and the private sector have been negotiating a new minimum wage.
Initially, organised labour proposed N615,500 and N494,000
as the new national minimum wage, citing inflation and the prevailing economic
hardship.
The federal government proposed N62,000, which was rejected.
The labour unions had insisted on N250,000 as the living
wage.
The federal government asked the labour unions to demand a
more realistic and sustainable minimum wage.
On Thursday, the tripartite committee agreed on N70,000 as
the new minimum wage.
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Nothing good will come out of Tinubu government, even the president knows this.
ReplyDeleteMay thunder strike this president,for this evil metted on Nigerians
ReplyDelete8-1=7. Tinubu still has 7 years to put in. No body should complain here ooo
ReplyDelete