President Bola Tinubu has forwarded a bill to the House of Representatives, proposing a new national minimum wage of N70,000 for Nigerian workers.
News About Nigeria reports that this move follows a consensus reached between the President and the leadership of Organised Labour last week.
The agreement marks a significant milestone in the ongoing negotiations between the government and labour unions after months of unsuccessful talks, the President’s intervention led to a breakthrough.
The tripartite committee, comprising representatives from the federal and state governments, as well as the Organised Private Sector, had previously suggested a minimum wage of ₦62,000.
However, labour leaders insisted on a higher amount of ₦250,000, citing the current minimum wage of ₦30,000 as unsustainable due to rising inflation and living costs.
The government’s initial reluctance to meet labour’s demands was attributed to concerns about the economic implications of such a significant increase.
Nevertheless, President Tinubu’s direct engagement with labour leaders led to a compromise.
The agreed-upon figure of ₦70,000 represents a substantial increase from the current minimum wage.
According to Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), labour accepted the ₦70,000 offer due to the government’s commitment to review the minimum wage every three years, rather than the previous five-year cycle.
This concession addresses labour’s concerns about the eroding purchasing power of workers’ wages due to inflation.
The transmission of the wage bill to the National Assembly is a crucial step towards enacting the new minimum wage into law.
This development aligns with President Tinubu’s commitment, expressed during his Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2024, to send an executive bill on the new national minimum wage to the legislature for passage.
