Minimum Wage Sage continues: The labor union found President Tinubu’s statement when he met with some governors on Democracy Day to be incorrect.
Notably, during a meeting with some governors and members of the Assembly, the President said the government can only pay what it can afford.
He also said he would notify the Senate if he changed his mind on minimum wage.
However, The Nigeria Labor Congress isn’t backing down on its demand for a better minimum wage to match the country’s economic reality.
The NLC spokesperson Benson Upah said the President’s statement contradicted his living wage promise.
While speaking with some media correspondents, Benson described the statement as a breach of promise to pay a living wedge superior to a minimum wage.
Therefore, the disagreement between the Government, Labor, and Organized Private Sector over this issue remains.
President Tinubu, in his Democracy Day Commemoration speech, claimed that both parties had reached a consensus.
He also said an executive bill would soon be forwarded to the National Assembly to conclude the formalization process.
However, Organized Labor rejected this claim, saying it had not reached any agreement with the government.
Paying A Higher Minimum Wage Would Pose Serious Challenges
The acting President of NLC, Adewale Adeyanju, stated that the Tripartite committee set up didn’t agree.
The negotiations had ended on Friday, June 7, 2024, with no solution.
Therefore, Organized Labor has concluded they are not accepting anything less than N250,000 as minimum wage.
According to Organized Labor, their demand remains at N250,000 only. No compelling reason has been provided to change their minds.
The Labor unions expressed their surprise over the President’s announcement of an agreement that had not been reached.
However, they say the President might have been misled to think that an agreement had been reached.
The State governors have also rejected the demands proposed by the Federal Government, OPS, and Organized Labor.
Furthermore, the Governors maintain that being compelled to pay a higher minimum wage would have serious consequences.