By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
The Organised Labour, comprising the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) has vowed to reject any meager increase in the ₦60,000 minimum wage proposal put forth by the Tripartite Committee.
The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC)Festus Osifo, conveyed this strong position during an appearance on Channels Television on Tuesday. This has expectedly triggered anxieties amongst Nigerians and the Federal government.
This stance followed the suspension of an industrial action initiated by the Organised Labour, which includes both the TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). The strike, which began at 12:01 am on Monday, was paused just hours before Osifo’s statement.
Osifo recounted that during a meeting last Friday, the Tripartite Committee had indicated no intention of increasing the ₦60,000 offer. However, in a subsequent meeting on Monday, President Bola Tinubu was committed to a figure exceeding ₦60,000.
The committee, comprising representatives from the Federal Government, state governments, and the Organised Private Sector, had previously proposed several figures: ₦48,000, ₦54,000, ₦57,000, and finally ₦60,000—all of which were rejected by the TUC and NLC.
In responding to the possibility of accepting slight increase to the committee’s final offer, Osifo unequivocally said: “No, we also told them that it’s not that we’d get to the table and you start adding ₦1, ₦2, ₦3,000 as you were doing, and we got some good guarantees here and there that they would do something good.”
Meanwhile, the TUC boss emphasized that while the union is not fixated on ₦494,000 as the new minimum wage, the Tripartite committee must present a serious and economically realistic offer that aligns with current inflationary pressures. He specified that the new wage should match the purchasing power of ₦30,000 in 2019 and ₦18,000 in 2014.
However, Osifo criticized the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, for labeling the industrial action as “premature” and “illegal.” Osifo countered that Organised Labour had given the government a one-month notice during this year’s Workers’ Day on May 1, 2024, which ended on May 31, 2024.
Despite the brief duration of the strike, Osifo asserted that it had achieved its goal by drawing national attention to the workers’ demands.
“When it comes to the issue of Labour, it should be taken much more seriously. The attention should be there. What has this strike achieved today? This strike has awoken everybody. I can tell you that between now and the next one week, the entire attention is going to be on the tripartite committee,” he said.
The nationwide strike was relaxed after Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, announced that President Tinubu was committed to a national minimum wage above ₦60,000. Additionally, the President has directed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to present a template for the new minimum wage by Wednesday.
