The organised labour movement labor movement has firmly rejected any #62,000 or #100,000 minimum wage proposals from the federal government, deeming them inadequate.
Speaking on Channels Television on Monday, Chris Onyeka, Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), labeled these proposals as “starvation wages.”
He reiterated labour’s demand for a #250,000 minimum wage, which they consider a living wage for Nigerian workers.
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“Our position is very clear. We have never considered accepting ₦62,000 or any other wage that we know is below what we know can take Nigerian workers home.
We will not negotiate a starvation wage,” Onyeka stated. “We have never contemplated #100,000, let alone$ #62,000. We are still at ₦250,000;; that is where we are, and that is what we considered enough concession to the government and the other social partners in this particular situation.”
The deadline for the federal government to review its proposal is set to expire at midnight on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Onyeka indicated that if the government and National Assembly do not act on workers’ demands by then,organised labour will convene to decide on resuming the nationwide industrial action.
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“The Federal Government and the National Assembly have the call now. It is not our call. Our demand is there for them to look at and send an executive bill to the National Assembly, and for the National Assembly to look at what we have demanded, the various facts of the law, and then come up with a National Minimum Act that meets our demands,” Onyeka said.
“If after tomorrow we have not seen any tangible response from the government, the organs of the organised labour will meet to decide on what next.”
When asked about labour’s response if the government insists on ₦62,000, Onyeka clarified, “We said we are relaxing a nationwide indefinite strike.
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It’s like putting a pause on it. So, if you put a pause on something and the organs that govern us as trade unions decide that we should remove that pause, it means that we go back to what was in existence before.”
This stance comes after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations for a new minimum wage, prompting organised labour, comprising the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), to initiate a nationwide strike last Monday.
The strike was temporarily suspended for five days following a commitment from the federal government to resume negotiations and propose a new minimum wage within a week.
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Despite these efforts, the negotiations on Friday, June 7, 2024, did not yield an agreement. While labor reduced its demand from ₦494,000 to ₦250,000, the government increased its offer from ₦60,000 to ₦62,000. Both parties have submitted their reports to the President, who is expected to make a final decision and send an executive bill to the National Assembly to pass a new minimum wage law.