The Nigerian Organized Labour, comprising the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), is awaiting President Bola Tinubu’s decision on the newly proposed ₦62,000 minimum wage.
Last Friday, the Tripartite Committee increased the minimum wage offer from the previously proposed ₦60,000 to ₦62,000. However, the TUC President, Festus Osifo, immediately rejected this figure, stating that Labour would not accept anything less than ₦250,000 as a fair minimum wage.
NLC President Joe Ajaero emphasized that Tinubu’s verdict will determine Organized Labour’s next move. President Tinubu is expected to study the proposal and send a bill to the National Assembly for the final consideration of the new national minimum wage Act.
Ajaero stated that Labour is prepared to wait for the President to consult further before making his decision public. He recalled how the current ₦30,000 minimum wage was set, noting that a lower figure had initially been suggested before being raised by the then-president prior to legislative approval.
Meanwhile, state governors who are not willing to pay the proposed N60,000 minimum wage have been advised by the Organized Labour to resign immediately. The Nigerian Governors Forum had earlier rejected the N60,000 minimum wage proposal, saying it was too high and they could not sustain it. They declared that they will not pay more than N57,000 as the minimum wage.
Reacting to the governors’ position, the Organized Labour knocked the state governments, describing their stance as harmful to the welfare of economically vulnerable groups.