- Demand By Labour Amounts To N9.5tn Yearly, Will Distablise Economy, Says Information Minister
- Asks Labour To Shelve Strike And Return To Negotiating Table
By Joel Okwara
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said the sum of N494,000 national minimum wage being demanded by Organised Labour will cumulatively amount to the sum of N9.5 trillion bill a year paid to only 1.2m workers.
The Minister says paying that humongous amount is capable of destabilising the economy and jeopardising the welfare of over 200 million Nigerians.
Mr Idris stated this at a news conference in Abuja – a readout of which was sent out by Rabiu Ibrahim,
Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister – in response to the threat by the organised labour to embark on strike if their demands were not met by midnight of Monday, June 3, 2024.
The New Diplomat reports that labour, represented by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), had initially demanded N615,000 as a living minimum wage for workers, but later reduced the amount to N494,000.
Conversely, the Federal Government had offered to pay N48,000, which labour rejected outright, and hiked it to N54,000, which labour also refused to accept. Now, the federal government has reportedly offered to pay N60,000 as the minimum wage.
It is unclear if labour had responded to the fresh offer by the federal government. But what is certain is an indefinite nationwide strike, called by the organised labour, to commence on Tuesday, June 4.
However, Idris said that the offer of N60,000 minimum wage by the federal government, which translates to a 100% increase on the existing minimum wage of 2019, “has been accepted by the organised private sector (OPS),” which is the third member of the tripartite committee of the negotiations team.
“The Federal Government’s New Minimum Wage proposal amounts to a 100% increase on the existing minimum wage 2019. Labour, however, wanted N494,000, which would increase by 1,547% on the existing wage,” the minister said at the press conference.
“The sum of N494,000 national minimum wage which Labour is seeking, would cumulatively amount to the sum N9.5 trillion bill to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Idris stated that Nigerians need to understand that whereas the FG is desirous of ample remuneration for Nigerian workers, “what is most critical is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not encourage any action that could lead to massive job loss, especially in the private sector, which may not be able to pay the wage demanded by the organised labour.”
The minister said even though labour is keen on the take-home pay of about 1.2 million workers, the federal government is concerned with the welfare of over 200m Nigerians “based on its Guiding Principle of Affordability, Sustainability, and the overall health of the nation’s economy.”
Idris appealed to the organised labour to return to the negotiating table and embrace reasonable and realistic wages for their members.
He said that because of the commitment of the Tinubu administration to the welfare of workers, “the wage award of 35,000 for federal workers would continue until a new national minimum wage is introduced.”
Rabiu Ibrahim
Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Information and National Orientation.
June 1, 2024.
