FG, organised labour agree on N70,000 minimum wage

Labour leaders with Tinubu

The Federal Government and organised labour have agreed om N70,000 new minimum wage.

This was announced by Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, at the end of the meeting with labour at the State House on Thursday, July 18.

The Federal Government had earlier proposed N65,000 while labour insisted on N250,000.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, stated that President Tinubu has promised to review the national minimum wage law every three years.

He said the President also promised to find ways to assist the private sector and the sub-nationals to pay the minimum wage.

Tinubu announced the decisions at the meeting held with leaders of TUC and NLC on Thursday in Abuja, the second time the parties met in 7 days.

The Labour leaders applauded President Tinubu for the fatherly gesture as the President also promised to use his discretionary powers to meet the demands of university unions demanding unpaid four months salaries.

Since the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, civil servants have continued to struggle with the unchanged minimum wage of N30,000 in spite rising inflation.

The prices of goods and services have tripled since then, leaving civil servants to grapple with skyrocketing costs and unchecked inflation.

This economic strain has made daily living increasingly difficult for many, highlighting the urgent need for a review of the current minimum wage and more robust economic measures to alleviate the burden on workers

The recent inflation report by NBS stated that the food inflation rate in May 2024 increased to 40.66 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 15.84 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2023 at 24.82 percent.

Details later…..

The Star