The Organised Labour remains steadfast in its demand for a ₦250,000 minimum wage for workers in Nigeria, according to Festus Osifo, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
On Tuesday, Osifo announced that the TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) are actively negotiating with Federal Government officials to reach an agreement on the new minimum wage. He made this statement at the maiden Annual Convention of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Women Commission in Abuja, themed “The Dynamic Woman: Navigating Challenges in a Constantly Evolving World.”
The negotiations have faced delays following President Bola Tinubu’s decision to engage in broader consultations with stakeholders before presenting the bill to the National Assembly.
While the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector have agreed on ₦62,000 as the new minimum wage, the labour unions are firmly advocating for a ₦250,000 benchmark.
Osifo emphasized that the minimum wage negotiations are ongoing and have not been abandoned. He noted that the 2019 minimum wage took nearly two years to finalize after negotiations began in 2017.
“The minimum wage negotiations cannot be dead. The 2019 minimum wage (that has expired) took about two years to see the light of day. We started the negotiations in 2017. We promised you when we started in January (this year) that we will ensure this one is fast-tracked for us not to be in the conundrum that we were in 2019 which took two years,” stated the TUC president.
He added that the current discussions are being meticulously refined, with the President seeking further consultations before submitting the proposal to the National Assembly.
“So where we are today, we submitted the divergent position in June. When we did that, you know clearly that Mr. President came out to say that he wanted to consult across the board, including with governors, local government chairmen, the organised private sector, and labour unions. We are doing some level of reach-out and conversations.
“So that what will be submitted to the National Assembly will actually be a minimum wage that will cater to the poorest of the poor. For the fact that in the media we are not shouting, we are doing some level of internal work so that this bill will be submitted in earnest soon. We still insist on the ₦250,000 benchmark as the ideal minimum wage,” Osifo stated.
