Following the walkout by the Organised Labour comprising of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress during the last meeting with the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage after the proposed N48,000 as minimum wage by the Federal Government, our correspondent learned that the government has now upped it to N54,000.

A highly reliable source within the meeting, which is currently ongoing, disclosed this to our correspondent in Abuja.

“The Federal Government has now proposed the sum of N54,000,” the reliable source said.

Though it is not clear whether Labour would accept this offer, The PUNCH reports that the FG’s proposal is a far cry from the N615,000 proposed by the organized Labour.

The National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, insisted on N615,000 minimum wage, arguing that the amount was arrived at after an analysis of the current economic situation and the needs of an average Nigerian family of six.

He blamed the government and the OPS for the breakdown in negotiation, saying, “Despite earnest efforts to reach an equitable agreement, the less than reasonable action of the Government and the Organised Private Sector has led to a breakdown in negotiations.”

But speaking on behalf of the OPS, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, Mr Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, described unions’ walkout when negotiation had not started as unfortunate.

The NECA DG admonished the union leaders to reconsider their position and return to the negotiation table in the interest of their members and national development.

However, Ajaero justified their decision to abandon the negotiation, saying, “The government’s proposal of a paltry N48,000 as the minimum wage does not only insult the sensibilities of Nigerian workers but also falls significantly short of meeting our needs and aspirations.

“Though it is worth noting that even the least paid workers in the private sector receive N78,000 as clearly stated by the OPS, highlighting the stark disparity between the proposed minimum wage and prevailing standards further demonstrating the unwillingness of employers and Government to faithfully negotiate a fair national minimum wage for workers in Nigeria.’’

He accused the government of failing to provide data to support its offer, noting that this undermined the credibility of the negotiation.

“Furthermore, the government’s failure to provide any substantiated data to support their offer exacerbates the situation. This lack of transparency and good faith undermines the credibility of the negotiation process and erodes trust between the parties involved.
The NLC president noted that the unions remained committed to fighting for the rights and interests of Nigerian workers.

He also called on the government to reconsider its position and come to the negotiation table with “clear hands that reflect the true value of the contributions made by Nigerian workers to the nation’s development and the objective socioeconomic realities that confront not just Nigerian workers but Nigerians today as a result of the policies of the Federal Government.”

President Tinubu, through Vice President Kashim Shettima, on January 30, 2024, inaugurated the 37-member Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage to come up with a new minimum wage ahead of the expiration of the current N30,000 wage on April 18.

The panel, whose membership includes federal and state governments, the private sector, and organised labour, will recommend a new national minimum wage for the country.

During the panel’s inauguration, Shettima urged the members to “speedily” reach a resolution and submit their reports early.

“This timely submission is crucial to ensure the emergence of a new minimum wage,” Shettima said.

In furtherance of its assignment, a zonal public hearing was held simultaneously on March 7 in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, and Abuja.

The NLC and the TUC in different states proposed various figures as a living wage, referencing the current economic crunch and the high costs of living.

In their different proposals on the minimum wage, the NLC members in the South-West states demanded N794,000 as the TUC suggested N447,000.

At the North-Central zonal hearing in Abuja, the workers demanded N709,000 as the new national minimum wage, while their counterparts in the South-South clamoured for N850,000.

In the North-West, N485,000 was proposed, while the South-East stakeholders demanded N540,000 minimum wage.

But organised labour settled for N615,000 as a living wage.


https://punchng.com/exclusive-fg-proposes-n54000-as-new-minimum-wage/

This is still small but better than 48k

Anything less than 100k makes no sense... You cannot keep drowning Nigerians in poverty and expect the common man to find his way.

A 50kg bag of rice is over 70k in the market, let's not even talk of gas, rent, electricity, transportation, clothing and personal needs, cos these people expect you to live under the bridge and trek to work daily...

Labour demanding over 600k why some state find it difficult to pay 30k makes the whole thin looks like joke. If the FG can try to make it 100k, then as time goes on they improve, e go good.

Oya oya bring am come first

The N54,000 the federal government is proposing is for what, feeding or transportation?
The federal government should give us a breakdown of how they arrived at that.

Stop all this parable and go to 70k

COMRADES, the amount is still meaningless and inadequate as long as this inflation remains very high

That is $36
Laughable, I swear!

The New Age Power Bank I bought recently was 62,000. Power Bank oo (not phone) ... because of the poor electricity supply in Nigeria
.

mightyhazel:
Oya oya bring am come first

Bring what 54k nawa for u oo. ABI na North you dey.. waiting u won use 54k buy

Nigeria government must understand the need of the masses. I am backing Labour to go on a massive strike. Anything less than #100k is not acceptable. Nigerians deserves better.

Going forward, I think it will be better to tie MW with Inflation. That way government will feel more committed to keeping inflation reasonably low.
---
How does PMB borrow over 30 Trillion through WAYS & MEANS from the CBN. Now, Tinubu has served Nigerians a double dose of currency devaluation and subsidy removal. Does anyone have any idea of the impact of these policies on Inflation? And yet the government thinks they can offer workers pittance. Why should workers be the victims of bad government policies?

54k should be the salary for BATerians on Nairaland for defending Tinubu's disastrous regime

I was initially thinking FG wanted to add the 54k to the current 30k minimum wage on ground to make it 84k total.

So they just want to add 24k on top of 30k to give us 54k?

Walahi talai if Tinubu tries this, I might be forced to disown him and believe he indeed has Dementia.

Abiru nonsense wo leleyi?!

Even the 84k is still absolute rubbish, na 54k you wan come pay?

Thomthom:
Bring what 54k nawa for u oo. ABI na North you dey.. waiting u won use 54k buy

wetin u come talk now e be 30k


I don lose hope for this govt..

mightyhazel:
wetin u come talk now e be 30k


I don lose hope for this govt..

No na labour will still agitate for like 100 or so.. this 54k no work na

Government already pays 70k as the minimum wage

35k normal salary and 35k palliative.

What is this joke about 54k?

nothing less than 100k just to manage o

its like they dont know everything now is ×4 in the market literally

You cant survive on 2k a day per transport, feed per day and thats even 60k wage o

Can you even believe a rich state like Anambra in 2024 is not paying a minimum wage of 30K and obidient do not want to claim that as legacy of Peter Obi knowing the failure never pay the 18K minimum wage back then too.

Hezzyluv:
Labour demanding over 600k why some state find it difficult to pay 30k makes the whole thin looks like joke. If the FG can try to make it 100k, then as time goes on they improve, e go good.

Something that cannot buy for Tinubu alias Bateria a sniff of Cocaine is what they are expecting a man to feed his wife and children with for 1 month. we never talk school fees, house rent, health care etc

This is madness

Which ops pays the least worker 78k?

This is still small but better than 48k

The FG don turn this matter to yam pricing in the market ooo

Is this the living wage you promised workers?🤔

ambale:
The FG don turn this matter to yam pricing in the market ooo

Is this the living wage you promised workers?🤔

In fact, it's just saddening

54k is rubbish

Allocate this 54k to accommodation, feeding, transport, dressing, education, and medical

And tell me why thunder should not fire the evil people who are proposing this ridiculous amount

54k today is by far less valuable than 30k in2019

hardbody:



I saw a video some days ago on youtube where housing constructions under the bridge in Lagos was going for N250k per annum. So under bridge is no longer free oo

Let's even assume it's free... Or sleeping on a roadside, so that's how they expect people to cope. Very selfish people... 58k that's not enough for them to fuel their big Toyota Prado with 150 litre tank, that's what they wanna pay someone for an entire month. Evil people!

Hezzyluv:
Labour demanding over 600k why some state find it difficult to pay 30k makes the whole thin looks like joke. If the FG can try to make it 100k, then as time goes on they improve, e go good.

Those state governors disguising that they cannot pay the minim wage in the country, their cups will soon get full. They all receive federal allocations, generate internal revenue and have enough to loot but when it comes to paying the minimum wage, they always have an excuse.

The NLC has to propose a unified salary scale for both state and federal workers cos they don't reduce the price of goods for state workers and increase it for federal workers. State workers don't deserve to earn a dime less than their federal counterparts, it's cheating.