The Federal Government has cautioned that the N494,000 minimum wage demanded by labour unions, totaling N9.5 trillion, would destabilise the economy.
News About Nigeria reports that the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, said this could harm the welfare of over 200 million Nigerians.
The minister stated that implementing this wage could have negative economic consequences.
Idris stated this while addressing journalists in Abuja in response to the threat by organised labour to embark on a strike if their demands were not met.
He said the offer of the N60,000 minimum wage by the Federal Government, which translates to a 100% increase on the existing minimum wage of 2019, has been accepted by the organised private sector, which is a member of the tripartite committee of the negotiations team.
“The Federal Government’s New Minimum Wage proposal amounts to a 100% increase on the existing minimum wage in 2019. Labour, however, wanted N494,000, which would increase by 1,547% on the existing wage.
“The sum of the N494,000 national minimum wage that Labour is seeking would cumulatively amount to the N9.5 trillion bill to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“Nigerians need to understand that whereas the FG is desirous of ample remuneration for Nigerian workers, what is most critical is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not encourage any action that could lead to massive job losses, especially in the private sector, where workers may not be able to pay the wage demanded by the organised labour,” he said.
The Minister, however, noted that even though Labour is keen on the take-home pay of about 1.2 million workers, the Federal Government is concerned with the welfare of over 200 million Nigerians based on its guiding principles of affordability, sustainability, and the overall health of the nation’s economy.
He, therefore, appealed to organised labour to return to the negotiating table and embrace reasonable and realistic wages for their members.
Idris said because of the commitment of the Tinubu administration to the welfare of workers, the wage award of $35,000 for federal workers would continue until a new national minimum wage is introduced.
