The Tripartite Committee on the new National Minimum Wage adjourned its meeting on Wednesday to allow the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, time to present the cost implications of the proposed wage increase to the committee.
According to a source close to the negotiations, the committee, which comprises representatives from the Federal Government, organized labor, and the private sector, discussed general matters during the meeting, though the specific details were not disclosed.
The meeting was adjourned to give the Finance Minister the necessary 48-hour deadline set by President Bola Tinubu to compile and present the cost implications of the proposed wage increase.
The source stated that the committee is expected to reconvene once the Finance Minister has presented the cost implications, which will then inform the negotiations on the new minimum wage.
Organized labor has been pushing for a new minimum wage of ₦695,000, while the Federal Government and the organized private sector had offered ₦60,000. The negotiations are expected to continue today, with the committee working on new figures that might have been presented to the President by the Finance Minister.
“The meeting was adjourned to give time to the Minister of Finance to meet the 48 hours dateline given to him to present cost implications to him,” the source said. “We just discussed general things. We decided to give him time to carry out the directive of the President.”