The President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Festus Osifo, addressed reporters in Abuja on Friday, expressing doubts that the long-anticipated new minimum wage would be announced on May 1.
“The negotiations by the Tripartite Committee are still ongoing. If you remember, the TUC earlier submitted N447,000 as the new minimum wage, but we have harmonised our figure with the Nigeria Labour Congress. It is now N615,000. Regarding the timing for the new minimum wage, the committee is still working. So, certainly, May 1 will not work for the pronouncement of the new minimum wage. Except if the Federal Government wants to pay the minimum wage of N500,000 to workers,” he said.
Osifo added that the N615,000 demanded by organized labor is not fixed. “The government also has its markup, and so conversations and negotiations will start and end somewhere,” he said.
He explained that before organized labor arrived at that amount, a proper study was conducted. “If you look at the N615,000, you will think that the amount is right, but at about the time we did that computation, a dollar was about N1,700. I am hopeful that the committee will meet after May 1,” he said.
The 37-member tripartite committee on minimum wage set up by the Federal Government is still conducting negotiations and consultations on the new minimum wage. The National Minimum Wage Committee, chaired by former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji, includes members from the Federal Government, State Governments, the private sector, and organized labor.
Vice President Kashim Shettima stated that the setting up of the minimum wage review committee reaffirms President Bola Tinubu’s desire to motivate the nation’s workforce, which he describes as the cornerstone of the administration. Shettima acknowledged the inevitable decisions needed to salvage the economy but assured Nigerians of better days ahead. He urged the committee to be diligent and consult widely in arriving at a fair and decent wage that can alleviate the sufferings of the people.
