By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
The Organized Labour comprising the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has refuted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s statement to the effect that there has been an agreement between the government and organized Labour on a new National Minimum Wage (NWM) as the former stated in his Democracy Day broadcast on Wednesday, in Abuja
In a statement by the Acting President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Prince Adewale Adeyanju, Labour clarified that as of the end of negotiations on June 7, no consensus was reached by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage. While IN250,000 were proposed by Organized Labour, the government and OPS offered N62,000, and both figures were to be submitted to the President for consideration.
The top NLC official emphasized that any assertions to the contrary on the (June 7) negotiations were incorrect and unacceptable to the NLC.
He stated: “The committee never agreed on a five-year duration of the minimum wage Act, and any suggestion otherwise is misleading.”
Recall that in his Democracy Day address, Tinubu had said: “As we continue to reform the economy, I shall always listen to the people and will never turn my back on you. In this spirit, we have negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organized labour on a new national minimum wage. We shall soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of our law for the next five years or less.”
The President also highlighted his administration’s commitment to cooperate over conflict, noting, “In the face of labour’s call for a national strike, we did not seek to oppress or crack down on the workers as a dictatorial government would have done. We chose the path of cooperation over conflict. No one was arrested or threatened. Instead, the labour leadership was invited to break bread and negotiate toward a good-faith resolution.”
But Adeyanju responded that while the NLC appreciates the President’s commitment to democratic ideals, they were surprised by his claim of an agreement.
He stated: “We had expected Mr. President to use his understanding to harmonize the two figures (N62,000 and N250,000) submitted by the Tripartite Committee in favour of workers and the masses. It would have been a fitting Democracy Day gift,”
He reiterated that the NLC’s demand remains at N250,000, and they have not been presented with any compelling reasons to alter this position.
“We are therefore surprised at the submission of Mr. President over a supposed agreement. We believe that he may have been misled into believing that there was an agreement with the NLC and TUC. There was none,” Adeyanju asserted.
