President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has proposed a new minimum wage offer of N60,000 for Nigerian workers.
This proposal was made during the Tripartite Committee meeting on Minimum Wage held on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
A prominent member of the committee revealed that both the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) presented the ₦60,000 monthly minimum wage offer, an increase from the ₦57,000 proposed the previous week.
Initially, the government and OPS had suggested N48,000 and N54,000, respectively, but these amounts were rejected by the Organised Labour.
Organised Labour had initially demanded a new minimum wage of N615,000 but revised their request to N497,000 last week and further reduced it to N494,000 on Tuesday.
Despite these negotiations, the meeting ended in a deadlock, with no agreement reached on the new minimum wage just days before the May 31 deadline set by the labour unions for the conclusion of negotiations.
The current minimum wage of ₦30,000, established by the Minimum Wage Act of 2019, expired in April 2024.
Labour unions argue that this amount is insufficient to meet the economic needs of Nigerian workers, noting that not all state governors are even paying the current wage.
Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero criticized the government’s latest proposals as inadequate.
“It is still not substantial compared to what we need to make a family moving,” he said, emphasizing the severe economic challenges faced by workers.
Ajaero highlighted the stark economic disparity, stating, “The economy of the workers is totally destroyed. In fact, the workers don’t have any economy. I think there are two economies in the country; the economy of the bourgeoisie and the economy of the workers.”
The Tripartite Committee, tasked with negotiating a new minimum wage, continues its efforts to reach a consensus amid these pressing economic concerns.