As negotiations on the new national minimum wage continues, the Organised Labour has vowed to reject any meagre addition to the ₦60,000 offer by the tripartite committee on the new minimum wage.
The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday, hours after the Organised Labour comprising the TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) suspended its industrial action which started at 12:01 am on Monday.
Osifo revealed that “At the meeting on Friday, (the tripartite committee) said it would not add anything more to the ₦60,000 but that in the meeting of Monday, President Bola Tinubu was able to commit to paying more than ₦60,000.
Before the strike, the tripartite committee which has the Federal Government, states and the Organised Private Sector as members, offered Labour ₦48,000, then ₦54,000 and then ₦57,000 and later ₦60,000, all four offers which were rejected by the TUC and NLC.
When asked whether Labour would accept a few thousand naira additions to the last offer of the tripartite committee, the TUC boss said they told the federal government not to start adding ₦1, ₦2, ₦3,000 when they get to the negotiating table.
He said Labour got some good guarantees here and there that they would do something good.
Osifo said the Organised Labour is not fixated on ₦494,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the country but the tripartite committee must show seriousness and offer workers something economically realistic in tandem with current inflationary pressures.
Though the union leader refused to mention a specific amount, he said the new minimum wage must be equal in purchasing power to the value of ₦30,000 in 2019 and ₦18,000 in 2014.
Osifo faulted the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, for describing the industrial action by labour as “premature” and “illegal” arguing that during this year’s Workers’ Day on May 1, 2024, the Organised Labour gave the government a one-month notice which ended on May 31, 2024.