Minimum Wage: FG And Labour To Meet Again On Friday As Negotiations Continue

The Federal Government has invited organised Labour for the continuation of minimum wage negotiations

The invitation according to reports was extended on Wednesday after previous talks ended in stalemate



“A letter has been addressed to Labour by the committee chairman and signed by the NSIWC chairman. The meeting is scheduled for Friday, a source said



On Tuesday, the minimum wage committee had adjourned indefinitely after talks between the Federal Government and organised Labour broke down as labour rejected the Federal Government’s N60,000 fresh proposal, up from the earlier N57,000 offer.


At the meeting, labour also lowered its demand by removing N3,000 from the N497,000 it proposed last week, pegging the new proposal at N494,000.



To fast-track the negotiation process, the Nigeria Labour Congress  and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria on May Day gave the committee till the end of the month to wrap up talks on a new national minimum wage.


The ultimatum will expire on Friday night.


The President of the TUC, Festus Osifo, said the ultimatum issued by labour remained following the breakdown of talks on Tuesday.


Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, on Wednesday, appealed to organised Labour to be considerate and patriotic in their demands in the ongoing negotiation for a new national minimum wage.


Onyejeocha made the appeal in a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Olajide Oshundun, in Abuja, on Wednesday.



The minister said the Federal Government had consistently taken steps to secure a fair and realistic wage for Nigerian workers.


She, therefore, urged labour to recognise that the nation’s economy was still on the path of recovery from the effect of the pandemic and other economic distress.



“We appeal to organised labour and, indeed, other relevant stakeholders to be considerate and patriotic in their demands, recognising that our economy is still recovering from the devastating effects of the pandemic and other global economic shocks.