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President Bola Tinubu has invited the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to a meeting on Thursday, July 11, 2024, to discuss the new minimum wage.
According to ThePunch, a source in the labour leadership disclosed this development on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.
The source said the president is willing to settle the new minimum wage issue.
Recall that in June, the Federal Government and Organised Private Sector agreed on ₦62,000 as the new minimum wage, but labour unions rejected the offer.
The government also appealed to the labour unions, arguing that ₦62,000 was the only realistic option that wouldn’t lead to job losses, but the union ignored the appeal.
TUC insists on ₦250k minimum wage
While speaking at the maiden Annual Convention of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Women Commission in Abuja on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, reiterated the position of organised labour on the matter.
Osifo insisted ₦250,000 is the ideal minimum wage for workers in Nigeria. He added that the union would ensure its negotiation with the government does not take too long.
“The minimum wage negotiations cannot be dead. The 2019 minimum wage (that has expired) took about two years to see the light of day. We started the negotiations in 2017.
“We promised you when we started in January (this year) that we will ensure this one is fast-tracked for us not to be in the conundrum that we were in 2019 which took two years.”
However, as the leadership of labour unions set to meet with the president on Thursday, Nigerian workers look forward to the outcome of the meeting.