During his Democracy Day speech, President Tinubu announced that an executive bill on the new national minimum wage for workers would soon be forwarded to the National Assembly for approval.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has firmly insisted on a minimum wage of ₦250,000, challenging President Bola Tinubu’s recent comments on the issue. The NLC has expressed dissatisfaction with Tinubu’s statement, emphasizing that the proposed amount is necessary to meet the current economic realities and ensure a decent standard of living for workers across the country. The labor union argues that the proposed figure reflects the rising cost of living and inflation, which have significantly eroded the purchasing power of the existing minimum wage.
The committee on the new minimum wage had submitted its report to the Federal Government, proposing a minimum wage of ₦62,000. During his Democracy Day speech, President Tinubu announced that an executive bill for the new national minimum wage would soon be sent to the National Assembly for passage.
However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has criticized this remark, maintaining its demand for a ₦250,000 minimum wage. In a statement by Adewale Adeyanju, standing in for NLC President Joe Ajaero, who is in Geneva for the ILO Conference, the NLC expressed its dissatisfaction.
“The NLC would have expected that the advisers of the President would have informed him that we have not reached any agreement with the federal government and employers on the base figure for a National Minimum Wage or its other components,” the statement read. The NLC emphasized that it would not back down on its demand, underscoring the need for a higher minimum wage to reflect the current economic realities and ensure a decent standard of living for workers.
“Our demand still remains N250,000 (two hundred and fifty thousand Naira) 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.”
No ‘Agreement’
The NLC said it had not reached any agreement with the Federal Government on a new minimum wage.
According to the union, it has not received a copy of the document on a new minimum wage submitted to Tinubu.
“We are therefore surprised at the submission of Mr. President over a supposed agreement. We believe that he may have been misled into believing that there was an agreement with the NLC and TUC,” he said.
“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. We have also not seen a copy of the document submitted to him and will not accept any doctored document.”
The NLC maintained its stance on not accepting “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!” NLC’s statement read.
