Labour Raises Salary to ₦497,000, Turns Down New Salary Offer of ₦57,000 from FG
Wednesday marked the third offer in approximately seven days since negotiations resumed, and the organised labour movement has already rejected all three.
A fresh proposal from the federal government for a minimum salary of N57,000 has been once again rejected by the Organised Labour, which includes the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Negotiations continued on Wednesday, and the Organised Labour once again rejected the government’s offer—the third in as many days.
But from their original ₦615,000, the NLC and the TUC lost ground, falling to ₦497,000.
According to a well-known member of the Tripartite Committee who spoke with a labour reporter from Channels Television, the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector have submitted a revised monthly minimum wage proposal of ₦57,000, up from ₦54,000 when the committee resumed negotiations on Tuesday. Last week, the government had first suggested 48,000 rupees, but the Organised Labour also turned it down.
The source claims that the Organised Labour also found grounds to reduce their demand for a minimum salary from 615,000 to 497,000 rupees.
Following last week’s withdrawal from the negotiations, Organised Labour has accused the government and private sector of demonstrating a lack of willingness to reach a new minimum wage agreement.
The government’s latest minimum wage proposal of ₦54,000 was also rejected by the NLC and the TUC when discussions resumed on Tuesday.
There are only a little over ten days until the trade unions’ May 31 deadline, and the committee still hasn’t settled on a new minimum wage.
To NLC President Joe Ajaero, the government’s new offering was “unsubstantial” on Tuesday. “It is still not substantial compared to what we need to make a family moving,” the labour leader told journalists.
“Nothing is being discussed at this time…The negotiations might resume in the afternoon of tomorrow (Wednesday).
A complete and utter collapse of the workers’ economy, he declared. Actually, the workforce is economically crippled. There are two economies at work here, in my opinion: the bourgeoisie’s and the workers’. In order to establish a common ground, I believe we must harmonise this.