- We Won’t Accept N3k Increase, Osifo Warns FG
- Says When It Comes To Labour’s Issue, It Should Be Taken Seriously
- Tinubu Directs Finance Minister To Present Minimum Wage Template
- Moghalu Canvasses N75-N100k As Minimum Wage, Reveals Why N494k Is Unrealistic
All might not be uhuru yet in the ongoing negotiation between the organized labour comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC); Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other affiliated bodies regarding a new minimum wage for Nigerians workers.
Earlier on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, Organised Labour “relaxed” the industrial action it embarked upon from Monday June 3, 2024 that has grounded economic and commercial activities in the country.
While Nigerians have breathed a sigh of relief over the suspension of the strike, it now appears that Labour is yet to sheathe its sword fully.
The union in its latest update has vowed to reject any lean addition to the ₦60,000 offer by the tripartite committee on the new minimum wage.
The President of TUC Festus Osifo, stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.
Before the strike, the tripartite committee which has the Federal Government, states and the Organised Private Sector as members, offered Labour ₦48,000, then ₦54,000 and then ₦57,000 and later ₦60,000, all four offers which were rejected by the TUC and NLC.
To this effect, the labour union has warned that it will reject any further increase of N3k when negotiation resumes.
“At the meeting on Friday, they (the tripartite committee) said they would not add anything more to the ₦60,000 but in the meeting of yesterday (Monday), Mr President was able to commit to doing what is more than ₦60,000
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We also told them that it’s not that we’d get to the table and you start adding ₦1, ₦2, ₦3,000 as you were doing and we got some good guarantees here and there that they would do something good.”
Osifo also faulted the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, for describing the industrial action by labour as “premature” and “illegal”. The TUC boss argued that during this year’s Workers’ Day on May 1, 2024, the Organised Labour gave the government a one-month notice which ended on May 31, 2024.
The TUC leader said the little-above-24-hour strike has achieved labour’s aim as it has awoken everyone in the country to the demand of workers.
“What has this strike achieved today? This strike has awoken everybody. I can tell you that between now and the next one week, the entire attention is going to be on the tripartite committee. That was actually what we were trying to achieve and we have achieved that,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to present a template for a new minimum wage.
READ ALSO: NLC,TUC Call Off Strike
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said this in Abuja on Tuesday after a Federal Government delegation on the new minimum wage met with the President.
“The President has directed the Minister of Finance to do the numbers and get back to him between today and tomorrow so that we can have some figures ready for negotiations with Labour.
“Mr President is determined to go with what the committee has set. He is also looking at the welfare of Nigerians,” he said.
In a related development, Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says Nigeria’s level of productivity cannot support the N400,000 minimum wage that the organized labour is demanding.
Moghalu disclosed this on his official X handle on Tuesday.
Moghalu said the demand is deserving but not realistic and therefore recommended a minimum wage of N75,000 to N100,000.
“In the debates on the national wage in Nigeria, we miss the fundamental point: there is little or no productivity in the economy,” he said.
“If we had a truly productive economy, there is no reason we can’t have the kind of minimum wage of 400 or 500K that Labour wants. But we can’t, because the level of productivity in the economy cannot support it. Remember, the minimum wage is not just about government salaries.
“There are not more than 2, at most, 3 million civil servants in Nigeria. It is even more about what is paid in the private sector, to household staff, etc.
READ ALSO: WAEC Pleads With NLC: “ Strike Should Not Interfere With Examinations”
“All of this is why, all things considered, including avoiding a minimum wage that multiplies already ravaging inflation (assuming such a wage can even be paid), I recommend a minimum wage of between N75,000 and N100,000.”
He further explained that productivity can be achieved by human capital development and electricity, amongst others.
“In fact, speaking about productivity, how productive is an average Nigerian worker? How skilled is he or she, and thus how much value does he or she create,” he said.
“I know we are all upset at our insensitive political class, who do not care about the masses and only for themselves. But the economics of it all is far more complex.
“Sadly, it is quite obvious that the political will to reduce the waste in governance does not exist.
“Human capital development. Skills that create value addition, which is economically quantifiable. Wealth creation and profitability increase. Wages go up naturally. And, of course, the almighty ELECTRICITY.”
