Organised labour rejects Nigerian government’s latest minimum wage proposal

The Nigerian Government’s latest proposal for a new minimum wage has been rejected by the Organised Labour, which includes the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

Channels Television reports that the government’s offer of a N60,000 monthly minimum wage was turned down by the labour unions, who have advocated for a significantly higher wage.

The labour unions initially demanded N615,000, but they have since reduced their proposal to N494,000 after lowering it to N497,000.

A prominent member of the Tripartite Committee, responsible for negotiating the new minimum wage, revealed that the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector proposed the N60,000 figure, an increase from the N57,000 suggested last week. Previous government proposals of N48,000 and N54,000 were also rejected by the unions.

The ongoing negotiations are under a tight deadline, with only three days remaining until the May 31 deadline set by the labour unions for an agreement to be reached. The Tripartite Committee, which includes representatives from the government, labour, and private sector, has yet to reach a consensus on the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

Topnaija recalled that Organized Labour announced its withdrawal from the ongoing minimum wage negotiations with the Federal Government on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

This decision came after the Federal Government and the Organized Private Sector (OPS) tabled offers of N48,000 and N54,000 respectively, which the labour union deemed “ridiculous.”

According to sources, the Federal Government failed to provide any supporting data for its proposal, unlike Organized Labour, while OPS asserted that none of its members pays less than N78,000.