The National Labour Congress (NLC) must’ve taken the “no gree for anybody” theme of the year seriously with their minimum wage negotiations. They’ve still not settled, following meetings between the minimum wage committee and labour unions in Abuja on May 15 and 21, 2024.
The federal government proposed a wage increase from ₦35,000 to ₦48,000 per month at the first meeting. The organised private sector (OPS) settled for ₦54,000 while labour unions maintained their stance of ₦615,000 to cope with the high cost of living.
In the second meeting on May 21, 2024, the federal government and the OPS maintained ₦54,000 because the government is short of funds. After a 30-minute break, they proposed the sum of ₦57,000. The final proposal from labour was ₦497,000. The meeting was then adjourned till Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
The major concern of the NLC is that the newly proposed amount will do nothing to help workers survive the current economic conditions, considering the electricity tariff hike, housing rates and inflation. The labour unions have given the federal government until May 31, 2024, to conclude negotiations and announce a new national minimum wage, threatening industrial action if their demands aren’t met.
The federal government has stated that although the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage is yet to conclude negotiations, the new minimum wage, whatever the final amount may be, will be backtracked to May 1, 2024, regardless of when negotiations end.
