The Nigeria Labour Congress said the government must agree to its demands on minimum wage.
The NLC was responding to a statement by President Bola Tinubu during a meeting with some governors and National Assembly members on the occasion of the country’s 25th Democracy Day anniversary.
“Senate president, deputy senate president, you will get a notice from me if I have changed my mind on minimum wage. We are going to do it — what Nigeria can afford, what you can afford, what I can afford. They ask you to cut your coat according to your size if you have size at all,” Tinubu had said.
However, in response, NLC spokesperson Benson Upah told PUNCH that the president’s statement contradicts his promise to pay a living wage.
“This will be in breach of his promise to pay a living wage which is superior to a minimum wage. Moreover, there is unanimity of opinion that government accede to the demand of Labour based on practical realities,” he stated.
Recall, the President, in the broadcast, also revealed that an executive bill would soon be sent to the National Assembly to formalise the new minimum wage agreement.
“In this spirit, we have negotiated in good faith and with open arms with Organised Labour on a new national minimum wage. We shall soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of our law for the next five years or less,” Tinubu said.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, the acting President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Adewale Adeyanju, said no agreement was reached by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage when negotiations ended on Friday, June 7, 2024.
Meanwhile, the state governors have strongly opposed the offers and demands put forward by the Federal Government, OPS, and Organised Labour regarding the new minimum wage.
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