₦48,000 OFFER: FG UPDATES LABOR LEADERS REGARDING MINIMUM WAGE

Babatunji Wusu –

The federal government has requested that labor union leaders and other interested parties get back to the bargaining table to carry on the conversation over the new minimum wage for workers in Nigeria.

Labor leaders received an invitation to a meeting on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, from Bukar Goni, the Chairman of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage. The letter was dated May 16, 2024.

This incident occurs just 24 hours after the leaders of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) abruptly left a minimum wage bargaining committee meeting on Wednesday, citing an absurd offer from the government as their reason.

Recall that during the meeting, the Organized Private Sector (OPS) recommended a minimum salary of N54,000, while labor stuck to its position on a minimum wage of ₦615,000 for workers. The government had proposed a new minimum wage of ₦48,000.

The labor leaders voiced their dismay in a statement issued following the meeting, claiming that the amount proposed by the federal government demonstrated its lack of seriousness.

They called the federal government’s proposed new minimum wage of ₦48,000 an affront to Nigerian workers’ sensibilities.

Punch claims that there are hints that the administration would examine its upward suggestion during the new conference.

It is believed that the tripartite committee chairman expressed in his letter the government’s readiness to modify its ₦48,000 offer.

“Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage: Negotiation” was the title of the letter.