Labour insists on N250,000 minimum wage

The Organised Labour says its demand for the new national minimum wage remains N250,000.

The Acting President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Adewale Adeyanju, said this in a statement while reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.

The Federal Government had offered N62,000 as the new minimum wage at the end of the tripartite committee meeting involving the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

Adeyanju noted: “We appreciate the president’s commitment to those fine democratic ideals which allowed the work of the Tripartite National Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee to proceed unhindered despite some hiccups.

“Our demand still remains N250,000 only and we have not been given any compelling reasons to change this position which we consider a great concession by Nigerian workers during the tripartite negotiation process.

“We are, therefore, surprised at the submission of Mr President over a supposed agreement.

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“We believe that he may have been misled into believing that there was an agreement with the NLC and TUC.

“There was none and it is important that we let the president, Nigerians, and other national stakeholders understand this immediately to avoid a mix-up in the ongoing conversation around the national minimum wage.”

Adeyanju stated that the Labour had not seen a copy of the document submitted to President Tinubu, stressing that it would not accept any doctored document.

He, however, reaffirmed the union’s belief that the president on whose table the tripartite committee’s report presently resides would prepare an executive bill whose content would reflect the true demand of Nigerian workers.

The NLC boss said: “We think that this is an opportunity for him to demonstrate his love for Nigerian workers and masses.

“That is by shunning the pieces of advice that may be coming from those whose intentions are continuously focused on hurting the poor and struggling workers of Nigeria.

“Mr President should not allow these individuals and groups to sabotage his promise of lifting Nigerian workers out of poverty.”

Adeyanju added: “Once again, we reiterate that it will be extremely difficult for Nigerian workers to accept any national minimum wage figure that approximates to a starvation wage.

“We cannot be working and yet remain in abject poverty.

“We seek justice, equity, and fairness for all Nigerians and this we hope would also drive the actions of Mr President who promised a living wage to Nigerian workers.

“This is an opportunity to show that he listens to Nigerians as he promised.”

The Star