We won’t accept a N100,000 minimum wage,” Labour declares
The organized labour force has firmly stated it will not accept N100,000 as the minimum wage. On Monday, June 10, the 37-member Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage submitted its report to President Bola Ahmed TinubuPresident Bola Ahmed Tinubu after approximately five months of deliberations.
Organized labour had initiated a strike on Monday, June 3, which was suspended for a week on Tuesday, June 4, following a plea from the federal government for negotiations.
Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), subsequently called an emergency meeting with labour leaders after the strike.
Following the meeting, it was revealed that representatives from the federal government and the private sector in the tripartite committee proposed N62,000 as the new minimum wage, while organized labour reduced its demand from N494,000 to N250,000.
Speaking on Monday, June 10, NLC President Joe Ajaero announced that there would be no protests or industrial action for now concerning the new minimum wage.
Ajaero shared this in an interview with select journalists in Geneva, Switzerland, during the ongoing International Labour Conference. He confirmed that the tripartite committee’s report had been submitted to President Tinubu.
He emphasized that organized labour could not strike on Tuesday, June 11, as they needed to wait for the president to consider the figures submitted by the tripartite committee before taking further action.
Ajaero stated: “The tripartite committee presented two figures to the president. The government and employers suggested N62,000 while labour proposed N250,000. We are awaiting the president’s decision.
“Our National Executive Council (NEC) will deliberate on the new figure once it is released. We cannot strike now because the figures are with the president. We will wait for his decision.
“Under the previous president (Buhari), the tripartite committee proposed N27,000, which he increased to N30,000. We are hopeful this president will make the right decision. The president acknowledged the significant gap between N62,000 and N250,000.”
Ajaero also criticized state governors, represented by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, for rejecting the N62,000 minimum wage proposal.
He questioned, “How can any governor claim they cannot pay? They also cannot call for the decentralization of the minimum wage. Are their wages decentralized?
“Governors who contribute nothing to the national purse and generate minimal Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) are earning the same as governors whose states generate billions of dollars into the FAAC.
“They should first decentralize their salaries and emoluments. For instance, where is the governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, getting his money from? He is paying a N70,000 minimum wage. This is the type of governor to emulate, not the lazy ones.”
Additionally, NLC Assistant General Secretary Chris Onyeka, speaking on Channels TV’s Morning Brief on Monday, said if the federal government and the National Assembly failed to act on workers’ demands by June 11, the NLC and TUC would decide whether to resume the nationwide strike.
He asserted: “Our position is clear; we have never considered accepting N62,000 or any wage below what Nigerian workers need to survive. We will not negotiate a starvation wage.
“We have never contemplated N100,000, let alone N62,000. We are firm at N250,000, which we consider a significant concession to the government and other social partners. Our stance is based on market realities – the cost of everyday essentials like rice, yam, and garri.
“The federal government and the National Assembly must act. Our demand is for the government to submit an executive bill to the National Assembly, which should then enact a national minimum wage law meeting our demands.
“If our demands are not met, we have given the federal government a one-week notice, which expires on June 11. If we do not see a tangible response, the organized labour will decide on the next steps.
“We stated that the nationwide indefinite strike was paused. If the trade unions decide to lift this pause, we will resume the strike.”