Minimum Wage Stalemate: Labour Walks Out on FG’s ‘Unserious’ Offer

Organized Labour has once again rejected the Federal Government’s offer of a new minimum wage. The latest offer, made during the resumed national minimum wage negotiations on Tuesday, was N54,000, but Labour leaders insisted that this amount was still too low. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) had previously demanded a minimum wage of N615,000, which they argued was a more realistic reflection of the country’s current economic situation.

The impasse led to the postponement of the meeting to Wednesday, as labour leaders and government representatives failed to reach a consensus. According to Success FM, labour leaders had earlier walked out of a meeting hosted by the tripartite committee on minimum wage negotiation after the Federal Government initially offered to pay N48,000. However, the Chairman of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, Alhaji Bukar Goni, managed to convince the group to return to the negotiation table by informing them that the government had agreed to reconsider its position.

Labour leaders expressed their disappointment and frustration with the government’s offer, describing it as “unserious” and “an insult to the sensibilities of Nigerian workers.” They argued that the proposed amount was a reduction in income for federal-level workers, who are already receiving N30,000 as mandated by law, augmented by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s 40 per cent peculiar allowance of N12,000 and the N35,000 wage award, totalling N77,000.

The NLC and TUC also criticized the government for failing to provide substantiated data to support its offer, which they said undermined the credibility of the negotiation process. They accused the government of lacking transparency and good faith in the negotiations, eroding trust between the parties involved.

Despite the impasse, Labour leaders said they remained committed to advocating for the rights and interests of Nigerian workers and were willing to continue engaging in reasonable dialogue with the government. They called on the government to reconsider its position and work towards finding a fair and sustainable resolution to the impasse.