By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have suspended the nationwide strike for five days, as negotiations continue with the federal government.
After a six-hour meeting with the leadership of organised labour in Abuja on Monday, the federal government expressed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to raising the N60,000 offered as the minimum wage.
The agreement stated, “The President of Nigeria, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is committed to establishing a National Minimum Wage higher than N60,000; and the Tripartite Committee will convene daily for the next week to finalise an agreeable National Minimum Wage.”
The organised labour also agreed to “immediately hold meetings of its organs to consider this new offer, and no worker would face victimisation as a consequence of participating in the industrial action.”
These resolutions were signed on behalf of the Federal Government by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris, and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.
NLC and TUC said the current minimum wage of N30,000 can no longer cater to the well-being of an average Nigerian worker, lamenting that not all governors are paying the current wage award which expired in April 2024, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. The Act should be reviewed every five years to meet the contemporary economic demands of workers.
On Monday, June 3, 2024, the labour unions declared a strike over the government committee’s inability to agree on a new minimum wage and reversal of the electricity tariff hike.
During the failed talks with the government, Labour rejected three government offers, the latest being N60,000, but now it has agreed to pay a yet-to-be-disclosed wage above N60,000.
The TUC and the NLC subsequently pulled out of negotiations, insisting on N494,000 as the new minimum wage.
Businesses, airports, universities, hospitals, and power supply were affected by the strike.
Aduragbemi Omiyale