The Organised Labour, including the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has firmly declared its intention to reject any minor increase to the current ₦60,000 minimum wage proposal by the tripartite committee.
This declaration was made by TUC President Festus Osifo during his appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” programme on Tuesday evening. The statement comes shortly after Organised Labour decided to suspend its nationwide strike, which began at 12:01 am on Monday and caused widespread disruptions across various economic sectors.
The strike was initiated in response to what the unions described as inadequate handling of wage negotiations by the government.
Osifo emphasized that although the strike had been paused to allow for further negotiations, the labour unions would not settle for a nominal increase.
“Our decision to suspend the strike was in good faith to allow for more constructive dialogue. However, let it be clear that any token addition to the ₦60,000 initially proposed will not be acceptable to us,” Osifo explained.
The ongoing negotiations aim to establish a new minimum wage that aligns with the current economic realities faced by Nigerian workers.
“At the meeting on Friday, the tripartite committee said they would not add anything more to the ₦60,000. However, in the meeting on Monday, Mr President committed to offering more than ₦60,000,” Osifo said.
When asked if Labour would accept a few thousand naira additions to the last offer of the tripartite committee, which includes the Federal Government, states, and the Organised Private Sector, the TUC boss replied, “No, we also told them that it’s not acceptable to get to the table and start adding ₦1, ₦2, or ₦3000. We received good guarantees that they would offer something substantial.”
Osifo clarified that while Organised Labour is not insisting on a specific figure like ₦494,000 as the new minimum wage, the tripartite committee must show seriousness and offer workers an amount that reflects the current inflationary pressures.
