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The Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has confirmed that the organised private sector agreed with the proposed ₦60,000 new minimum wage by the Federal Government.
The Director-General of MAN, Ajayi Kadri, made this known during an interview with Channels Television in Abuja on Saturday, June 1, 2024.
Kadri explained that the tripartite negotiations involving the government, private sector, and labour were geared towards establishing a minimum wage - the lowest amount that can be paid to any worker in the country - rather than a living wage.
He also noted that the severe economic challenges have been harsh on both labour and private businesses, making it extremely difficult for employers to meet the wage demands put forward by the labour unions.
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“To start with, this is a very difficult time for anyone to negotiate minimum wage. From the perspective of government, labour and organised private sector, we operate in an environment where there is general acceptance of the fact that the macroeconomics are not right, even the global economy is experiencing a lot of shakeups and the aftermath of government necessary reforms.
“From the beginning of the negotiations of the minimum wage, it’s evident to the tripartite— that is the government, labour, and organised private sector— that we are going to operate in a difficult terrain.
“Incidentally, the organized private sector and government have offered N60,000 as the minimum wage and I think it is very important for us to understand that what we are talking about is the minimum wage. That is what some people have called the walk-in wage. That is the amount we will pay the least workers in the country. It is the minimum wage we are negotiating, not a living wage,” Kadri said.
The MAN DG further stated that both the government and the private sector bear significant constraints in fulfilling the proposed ₦419,000 wage request.
According to him, the private sector is dealing with economic challenges, including inflation, which makes it impossible to pay such an amount.
He argued that this time isn't the most appropriate time for organised labour to negotiate a new minimum wage, suggesting that they should collaborate with other stakeholders to strengthen the economy.
“All of us in the tripartite— the government, the labour, and the private sector — we all knew that we were operating in a very difficult environment. The government itself realized that it had limited capacity to pay. The private sector is constrained by microeconomic, infrastructure and security challenges. So, we are also constrained to pay.
“Labour on its part, is under intense pressure from its constituencies to ask for a higher wage because inflation has hit the roof and the operating environment is tough.
“Throughout the negotiation process, we made it known that this is not the best time to negotiate minimum wage. This is the time for us to agree, the crew behind the government, and grow the economy in such that we will bake a bigger cake and then we’ll be able to share,” the DG added.
Labour threatens to commence indefinite strike Monday
The Organised Labour had announced plans to commence an indefinite strike starting Monday, June 3, 2024, after the expiration of the ultimatum given to the Federal Government on the new minimum wage.
Speaking on Friday, the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, declared that the industrial action will last until there's an agreement on a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
Commenting on this, Kadri appealed to labour unions to reconsider their decision, stressing that walking out of discussions and declaring strike would not help matters.
“We cannot afford to cripple the economy when all we needed to do was continue to build it. I think President Tinubu was very clear when he emerged as president that these are not going to be easy times and I think we needed to tighten our belts to deliver on economy that we know has been seriously battered,” Ajayi-Kadir said on Channels Television’s Sunrise programme on Saturday.
“Of course, the government on its own side has to demonstrate leadership, sensitivity and sense and sense of mind as well as the sense of occasion of the period that we are in. So, government expenditure, government choices of what needs to be done, how much to be spent, the cost of governance itself, all of it has to come to the table.
“I think what labour is actually worried about is that they appear to be the ones on the brunt of it but we needed to be able to engage, walking out on the process and declaring strike, I do not think that that is what is going to solve this issue,” he concluded.