President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved N70,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the country.
Tinubu announced the minimum wage during a meeting with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) at the presidential villa on Thursday.
Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of NLC, and Comrade Festus Usifo, President of the TUC, attended alongside some members of their unions.
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Nkiru Onyejeocha, minister of state for labour, said Tinubu and the labour leaders agreed that the time limit for the review of the minimum wage should be reduced to three years.
Onyejeocha added that the parties agreed that the time limit of five years for review is too long.
Why we accept N70000 as minimum wage – Labour
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said the unions had accepted the offer.
He said the unions agreed to the offer because of other incentives attached.
He said another reason for accepting the offer is that the president promised a review every three years, which was against what was obtained in the past.
Long talks for minimum wage
In recent months, negotiations for a new minimum wage have been ongoing involving the federal and state governments, organized labor, and the private sector.
Initially, organized labor proposed N615,500 and N494,000 as the new national minimum wage, citing inflation and economic hardship.
The federal government countered with a proposal of N62,000, which was rejected by organized labor.
Labor unions insisted on N250,000 as a living wage.
In response, the federal government urged labor unions to seek a more realistic and sustainable minimum wage.
On June 7, governors, represented by the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), expressed concerns that a N60,000 minimum wage for workers would not be sustainable.
By June 10, the tripartite committee had submitted its report to George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
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