The Organised Labour has agreed to participate in the negotiation meeting, of the Tripartite Committee, on the Minimum Wage scheduled for Tuesday.
This development comes after a previous walkout by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) over the Federal Government’s proposal of N48,000 as the new minimum wage.
The Vice President of the Trade Union Congress, Mr. Etim Okon, confirmed this decision in an interview on Monday in Abuja.
Okon stated, “The Federal Government has apologised, and the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
We are going to appear and present our demand.”
The unions had rejected the government’s proposal, deeming it insufficient to meet workers’ needs.
“The proposal falls significantly short of meeting our needs and aspirations,” the unions stated.
They also criticised the government for failing to provide substantiated data to support their offer, accusing them of a lack of transparency and good faith, which undermined the credibility of the negotiation process.
Okon added, “We will still be presenting the N615,000.
It is what we presented before we walked out, though our submission was not rejected by the government.
We only rejected the N48,000 that the government presented because they did not show us how they arrived at that amount.”
Emphasising the need for a comprehensive approach, he said, “That is taking cognisance of transportation, housing, food, utilities, health, and education among others which are basic needs of the people.
So the government should come out clearly with what they are offering with the indices and variables and also how they arrived at that.
This is all that we are saying.”
Similarly, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, expressed optimism about the upcoming meeting.
“I am happy the government had prevailed on the issue and they would be coming back to the table for the actual negotiations,” Oyerinde said.
He acknowledged the validity of all parties’ proposals, stating, “Everybody’s figure is valid.
The Labour N615,000 proposal is valid to the extent of labour reality, and government’s N48,000 is valid to their reality.
The private sector’s N54,000 is also valid to the present-day reality.”
Oyerinde highlighted the importance of negotiation and compromise in reaching a consensus.
“As I said, we have moved back to the negotiation table properly, and we would look at alignment of positions.
There will be a lot of give and take.
Also, there will be a consensus on what the National Minimum Wage will be, and the committee will then make a recommendation to Mr. President,” he concluded.
