NLC shifts ground, demands N497,000 against former N615,000 as Federal government makes new offer of N57,000

Both the Organised Labour comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Federal Government have shifted grounds shift grounds as negotiations continue for a new minimum wage.

However, it is not yet uhuru as Labour again rejected the Federal Government’s new offer of ₦57,000 minimum wage – the third proposal in about a week when negotiation talks resumed yesterday, Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

However, the NLC and the TUC shifted ground from their initial ₦615,000 to ₦497,000.

A prominent member of the Tripartite Committee for the negotiation of a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers told Channels Television labour correspondent that the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector side of the talks proposed a ₦57,000 monthly minimum wage as against the ₦54,000 they proposed on Tuesday when the committee resumed negotiations. The government had initially proposed ₦48,000 last week, which was also rejected by the Organised Labour.

According to the source, the Organised Labour also saw reasons to drop their demand from the initial ₦615,000 minimum wage to ₦497,000.

The Organised Labour had pulled out of the negotiation last week, accusing the government and private sector of showing unwillingness to agree on a new minimum wage.

At the resumption of the negotiations on Tuesday, the NLC and the TUC also rejected the new proposal of ₦54,000 minimum wage by the government.

The committee is yet to agree on a new minimum wage just about 10 days before the May 31 deadline the labour unions gave to the government to conclude the negotiations.

‘Unsubstantial’

On Tuesday, NLC President Joe Ajaero described as “unsubstantial”, the fresh proposal by the government. “It is still not substantial compared to what we need to make a family moving,” the labour leader said on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“There is nothing on the table…We may be reconvening tomorrow (Wednesday) in the afternoon to continue negotiations.”

He said, “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. I think we have to harmonise this so that we can have a meeting point.”