The ₦62,000 government and private sector proposal and the ₦250,000 organized labor, demand are expected to be decided upon by the President. Organized labor has received assurances from President Bola Tinubu assured Nigerians that the National Assembly will soon consider an executive measure establishing a new national minimum wage for workers.
On June 12, 2024, Tinubu announced this in his second Democracy Day speech on Wednesday.
In keeping with this, we have been transparent and sincere in our negotiations, with organized labor over a new national minimum wage. We will shortly submit an executive bill to the National Assembly to codify the agreements reached, for the next five years or fewer, as part of our legislation,’ the President declared.
June 12 Tinubu Assured Nigerians.
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He claimed that none of the leaders of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) or the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) were detained or intimidated during the labor movement’s nationwide strike on June 3, 2024.
‘Rather than opposing, the labor leadership was asked to engage in a constructive dialogue and work toward a mutually agreeable solution,’ he stated, emphasizing that ‘rational discourse and ethical concession are characteristics of democracy.’
‘Changes Will Address Adversity’
Tinubu also expressed sympathy for Nigerians and acknowledged the country’s economic challenges. ‘Necessary repairs required to fix the economy;’ he pledged.
‘The goal of the reforms we have started is to build a better, stronger base for future expansion. Without question, the changes have caused difficulty. But in the long run, these fixes are essential to stabilize the economy and ensure that everyone has access to opportunities for employment, just remuneration for their labor, and fair pay for their efforts,’ he stated.
Long Stroll to New Salary
There have long been discussions about raising the minimum wage for Nigerian employees. In April 2024, the Minimum Pay Act of 2019, which set the minimum pay at ₦30,000, came to an end. Every five years, the Act should be reviewed to ensure it still meets the needs of modern workers in terms of the economy.
A tripartite committee was established by President Tinubu in January to negotiate a new minimum wage for laborers. The committee is made up of representatives from the organized private sector, federal and state governments, and organized labor.
On Monday, June 3, 2024, labor was forced to declare an indefinite strike due to the committee members’ inability to come to a consensus on a new, realistic minimum wage for workers. The National Assembly, state assembly buildings, banks, hospitals, airports, and the national grid were all shut down by labor, paralyzing business.
The labor unions maintained that given the country’s current inflationary pressures, the effects of the administration’s twin policies of overcoming subsidies for petrol and unifying its forex windows, and the country’s current inflationary pressures, the government should offer workers a more strong competitors’ wage. They further contended that the current ₦30,000 minimum wage was insufficient to support the well-being of the average Nigerian worker.
On June 4, 2024, labor ‘relaxed’ its strike after the President gave guarantees that he would guarantee a salary beyond Sixty thousand.
The heads of the TUC and NLC then went back to talking with the federal government, the states, and the organized private sector.
The labor and government parties were still unable to come to a consensus on Friday, June 7, 2024. The government increased its initial ₦60,000 by ₦2,000 and offered workers ₦62,000, while labor demand fell once more, from ₦494,000 to ₦250,000.
To pass a new minimum wage bill that the president will sign into law, both parties submitted their reports to the president.
Who is then expected to decide and forward, a measure to the National Assembly in executive form?
