The Federal Government and organized labour are set to resume negotiations on a new national minimum wage on Friday, May 31, after previous talks broke down.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero, confirmed the upcoming discussions to newsmen.
This follows a letter from the chairman of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, inviting Labour to the negotiating table.
The letter, signed by the Committee’s Secretary, Ekpo Nta, was shared with the press on Wednesday.
Ajaero assured that organized labour would participate in the talks but cautioned that the discussions would not be a “monologue.”
He said, “Yes, we will attend but you know our ultimatum expires on Friday. If they present a better offer on Friday we will accept it.
“But we will not attend the meeting for the sake of talks. We will not go into a monologue.”
On Tuesday, negotiations between the Federal Government and organized labour hit a deadlock when both sides raised their offers to N60,000, with the government adding N3,000 to its previous offer of N57,000.
This increase was rejected by labour as they deemed it “insulting,” leading them to walk out of the tripartite meeting.
In response, labour revised their demand, lowering it by N3,000 from the previous N497,000 proposal to N494,000.
To expedite the negotiation process, NLC and TUC had given the committee until the end of May to conclude talks on the new national minimum wage, with the ultimatum set to expire on Friday night.
President of the TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo, reiterated that the ultimatum remains in place following the breakdown of talks on Tuesday.
“We have an ultimatum on May Day that if by May end, we don’t have a new minimum wage that will take a worker home, we will not be able to guarantee industrial peace.
“We are sticking to that ultimatum,” the president of the TUC, Osifo said.
President Bola Tinubu on May Day promised to pay workers a living wage
President Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, inaugurated a 37-member tripartite committee on January 30, 2024, tasked with recommending a new national minimum wage.
The committee’s composition spans federal and state governments, the private sector, and organized labor.
Shettima emphasized the need for a swift resolution and early submission of reports during the committee’s inauguration.
“This timely submission is crucial to ensure the emergence of a new minimum wage,” Shettima said.
Tinubu, through Shettima, not only urged collective bargaining in good faith but also emphasized contract adherence and encouraged consultations outside the committee during the inauguration of the 37-member tripartite committee.
The committee, chaired by former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Goni Aji, was tasked with recommending a new national minimum wage.
