President Bola Tinubu-led government, on Wednesday, reached out to the Organised Labour consisting the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) for the continuation of minimum wage negotiations.
According to Punch, a source familiar with the matter disclosed the development in Abuja.
The source noted that Labour would honour the invitation.
The source said, “A letter has been addressed to Labour by the committee chairman and signed by the NSIWC chairman. The meeting is scheduled for Friday.
Of course, Labour will attend. If they present a better offer on Friday we will accept it.”
Recall that the minimum wage committee, on Tuesday, adjourned indefinitely after talks between the Federal Government and Organised Labour broke down.
During the meeting labour rejected the Federal Government’s ₦60,000 fresh proposal, up from the earlier ₦57,000 offer.
At the meeting, labour also lowered its demand by removing ₦3,000 from the ₦497,000 it proposed last week, pegging the new proposal at ₦494,000.
To fast-track the negotiation process, NLC and TUC on May Day gave the committee till the end of the month to wrap up talks on a new national minimum wage.
The ultimatum will expire on Friday night.
The President of the TUC, Festus Osifo, said the ultimatum issued by labour remained following the breakdown of talks on Tuesday.
Osifo said, “We have an ultimatum on May Day that if by May end, we don’t have a new minimum wage that will take a worker home, we will not be able to guarantee industrial peace.
We are sticking to that ultimatum.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, on Wednesday, appealed to Organised Labour to be considerate and patriotic in their demands in the ongoing negotiation for a new national minimum wage.
She said, “We appeal to organised labour and, indeed, other relevant stakeholders to be considerate and patriotic in their demands, recognising that our economy is still recovering from the devastating effects of the pandemic and other global economic shocks.
We are committed to putting the people first and ensuring that our economic policies benefit all Nigerians, not just a select few.
The government remains dedicated to prioritising the well-being of our citizens and it wants to urge all relevant parties to demonstrate patriotism and understanding.
This is particularly during this critical period when President Bola Tinubu, is working diligently to revitalise the economy.
As a government, we recognise the importance of ensuring that our citizens receive a decent standard of living wage, and we are committed to making this a reality.
After hours of intense negotiations, labour leaders took a recess to consult with other key stakeholders and have pledged to return to the negotiating table for further discussion.
We welcome this development and are optimistic that our continued engagement will yield a positive outcome.
In the light of the current economic conditions, we have made a concessionary move from ₦57,000 to ₦60,000.”
A top official of the NLC told the platform that organised labour had not changed its position that negotiation on the minimum wage should end on Friday.
