Why we agreed on N70,000 new minimum wage, by NLC, TUC

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The Nigerian labour movement has explained the reason they agreed to the N70,000 new minimum wage, saying the nation must move on.

Also, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, and his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, said they agreed because the wage reviews in the country will no longer be every five years but once in three years.

The labour leaders spoke on Thursday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

Ajaero and Osifo were both with the Information Minister Mohammed Idris, Labour Minister Nkiruka Onyejeocha, and other officials.

According to the NLC President, “What has been announced in terms of the amount of N70,000 happened to be where we are now. But the cool thing about it is that we will not wait for another five years to come on review.

“Rather than settling on a figure that we wait for five years, it’s like we’ll have to now negotiate even two times within five years.

“That is one of the reasons why we decided to reach where we are today. Because of the proviso that we can review in the next three years.

“The other one, we came with other issues in the basket, like the issue of SSANU, NASU and others, especially with the affront by the Commissioner of Police FCT, we brought it to Mr President, and talk on the need for that matter to be addressed. And magnanimously, he (Tinubu) asked the agencies concerned to work out the modalities for the payment of those workers in the universities.”

Similarly, Osifo said, “The President (Tinubu) made a pronouncement or announcement of N70,000. By next week, he should put the finishing touches to the bill and the transmission to the National Assembly.

“But why this became a catch is because we, from Organised Labour, have been pushing that the issue of five years review is a long time, that a lot of economic indices may have changed because we are in an era where things are moving very fast in terms of both macro and micro economic policies.

“But there is a caveat that this is going to be done every three years, the next review should be in three years. And after that pronouncement, we from labour received what the President has promised.”

Indeed, the tripartite committee, which comprised state and federal governments and the Organised Private Sector, proposed ₦62,000 while labour insisted on ₦250,000 as the new minimum wage for workers.

Labour had said ₦30,000 minimum wage was unfair to any worker going by the economic challenges, including inflation and high cost of living consequent of the removal of petrol subsidy by the President.

The Information Minister, however, informed on Thursday that the ₦70,000 “agreed” amount would be communicated with the National Assembly in the coming days.