Minimum Wage: NLC Disputes Tinubu’s Speech

The Nigeria Labour Congress has disputed the claims made by President Tinubu in his Democracy Day address concerning the ongoing National Minimum Wage negotiations.

“Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech and national minimum wage negotiation: May be accurate in history, inaccurate in reality”, equally, maintained that the committee never agreed on a five -year duration of the minimum wage Act, while acknowledging that the President mentioned five years or less.

Tinubu had, in his Democracy Day speech, mentioned that his administration had negotiated in good faith with organised labour and planned to send an executive bill to the National Assembly to formalise the new minimum wage for a duration of five years or less.

Recalls that the Federal Government had offered N62,000 as the new national minimum wage, at the end of the tripartite committee meeting, involving the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

Tinubu noted his commitment to listening to the people and avoiding oppressive measures against labour, choosing cooperation over conflict.

NLC stated that while the President accurately recounted historical aspects of Nigeria’s democratic journey, he was misinformed about the outcomes of the wage negotiation process.

The union, however, noted that no agreement was reached with the federal government and employers on the base figure for a national minimum wage.

It added that their demand remains N250,000, and they are surprised by the President’s assertion of a supposed agreement and believe he was misled.

Our demand still remains N250,000 only and we have not been given any compelling reasons to change this position which we consider a great concession by Nigerian workers during the tripartite negotiation process.

The statement reads in part, “The NLC would have expected that the advisers of the President would have told him that we neither reached any agreement with the federal government and the employers on the base figure for a National Minimum Wage nor on its other components. Our demand still remains N250,000 only and we have not been given any compelling reasons to change this position which we consider a great concession by Nigerian workers during the tripartite negotiation process.

“We are therefore surprised at the submission of Mr. President over a supposed agreement. We believe that he may have been misled into believing that there was an agreement with the NLC and TUC. There was none and it is important that we let the President, Nigerians and other national stakeholders understand this immediately to avoid a mix up in the ongoing conversation around the national minimum wage. We have also not seen a copy of the document submitted to him and will not accept any doctored document.

“However, we want to reaffirm our belief that the President on whose table the Tripartite Committee’s report presently resides would prepare an Executive Bill which content will reflect the true demand of Nigerian workers. We think that this is an opportunity for him to demonstrate his love for Nigerian workers and masses by shunning the pieces of advice that may be coming from those whose intentions are continuously focused on hurting the poor and struggling workers of Nigeria. Mr. President should not allow these individuals and groups to sabotage his promise of lifting Nigerian workers out of poverty.”