Organised Labour

Richard Elesho

The federal government and labour have been unable to harmonise their positions on the new minimum wage after days of intense negotiations. The situation has created suspense in the minds of Nigerians.

The federal government says it has offered the organised labour N62,000 against the initial N60,000, as the least wage for workers, while on the other hand, labour says it has come down to N250,000 from its initial N494,000.

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma made the conflicting positions known in Abuja on Friday while addressing journalists at the end of the tripartite committee’s meeting.

The governor said: “We are almost there because we are just about to sign the document, and there will be a complete closure. Every other thing will follow.

“The committee has worked so hard, and the committee has reached an agreement. The tripartite committee is made up of three parties – the government, the Organised Private Sector (OPS), and the Organised Labour.

“In the wisdom of the committee, it has put together a recommendation that will be forwarded to Mr. President for further action.

“The Organised Private Sector and the federal government have agreed on N62,000 while the Organised Labour is asking for N250,000.

“At the end of the day, what is important is that we are talking. There is no hostility anymore. And the national anxiety is going to be relaxed as soon as this is made public.”

Also speaking, the President of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Festus Osifo, noted that the OPS and federal government have recommended N62,000 as the minimum wage.

Osifo said: “But for us, we felt that with the current economic hardship and the difficulty in the land, the sum of N250,000 should be what will be okay for the minimum wage.

“We are going to sign a report and forward this position to Mr. President. This committee is to make recommendations to him.

“So we will forward it to him, and Mr. President will forward it to the National Assembly.

“We will keep pushing to ensure that we have a wage that stands the test of time in Nigeria.”

The Chairman of the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage, Goni Aji, explained further on their work.

Aji said: “The situation that we are recommending to Mr President, somehow, is repeating itself because it happened in the 2018 exercise.

“In 2018, it was the other way. The Organised Private Sector and the Organised Labour recommended N30,000 as minimum wage while the government side recommended N24,000.

“Two figures were recommended to the then president for his consideration and onward transmission to the National Assembly for it to become a law. That is exactly where we are.”

It would be recalled that the Organised Labour had suspended an industrial action on Monday following the government’s commitment to pay more than N60,000 minimum wage.