FG, organized labor and the private sector propose different minimum wages for workers

NECA CEO, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde

The federal government, organized workers (Trade Union Congress TUC and Nigerian Labor Congress, NLC) and the private sector have proposed three different minimum wages for workers during the ongoing minimum wage negotiations.

Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, Director General of the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA), that the minimum wage proposed by various stakeholders is valid in their eyes.

He then praised organized labor’s efforts to return to the negotiating table after initially withdrawing from the federal government’s proposal last week.

He said: “I’m glad the government has won on this issue and will come back to the table for actual negotiations.”

“Everyone’s numbers are important, Labour’s N615,000 proposal is valid in terms of workers’ reality, the government’s N48,000 is valid in their reality. The private sector quota of N54,000 also applies in today’s reality. As I said, we have actually returned to the negotiating table and will look at the convergence of positions. There will be a lot of give and take.”

“There will also be a consensus on the level of the national minimum wage, and then the commission will present a recommendation to the president,” he added.

Organized Labor agrees to continue negotiations with FG

Organized Labor also announced its agreement to participate in the Trilateral Commission meeting on minimum wage negotiations scheduled for Tuesday.

Mr Etim Okon, Vice President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), confirmed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

The Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) and the TUC earlier walked out of a negotiation meeting after the federal government proposed a new minimum wage of ₦48,000 for workers.

Labor also accused the government of failing to provide reasoned data to support its offer, which made the situation worse. They argued that the lack of transparency and good faith undermined the credibility of the negotiation process.

“The proposal differs significantly from our needs and aspirations. The federal government has apologized and another meeting is scheduled for Tuesday where we will appear and present our demand.”

“We will continue to present the N615,000 model. This is what we presented before we exited, although our application was not rejected by the government.”

“We only rejected the N48,000 figure presented by the government. Because they didn’t show us how they got to that amount. This means considering transport, housing, food, utilities, health and education, among others, which are basic needs of people. So the government should clearly present its offer, including indicators and variables, as well as how it arrived at it. That’s all we say”