The Organized Labour has rejected the Federal Government’s proposed new minimum wage of ₦60,000, stating it is inconsistent with the country’s economic conditions.
Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Festus Osifo, expressed this sentiment on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today where he criticised the federal government’s lack of urgency regarding the minimum wage discussions and warned that labour would go on strike if the matter is not promptly addressed.
Citing Nigeria’s inflation rate of 33.69% as of April 2024, based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Osifo stated that labour had to “completely reject” the government’s latest offer of ₦60,000.
“The government must take the issue of a new minimum wage seriously,” Osifo said. “We fully reject their offer. They need to provide a detailed explanation of how a family is supposed to survive on ₦60,000 a month.”
He reminded that the ultimatum issued on May 1st is still in effect, with just three days left until the May 31st deadline. “It’s the 28th of May today, so there are three days left to resolve this issue,” he emphasized.
Osifo also critiqued the reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, accusing the administration of inconsistency and lack of thoughtful policy-making. “We rate their performance 2.5 out of 10, which is 25%,” he remarked.
Negotiations over a new minimum wage have been ongoing for months between labour unions and the Federal Government. Initially, labour demanded a minimum wage of ₦615,000 but later revised it to ₦494,000 after two reductions. In contrast, the government and the organized private sector initially proposed ₦48,000 and ₦54,000, both of which labour rejected.
During a committee meeting on minimum wage on Tuesday, labour again dismissed the Federal Government’s new proposal of ₦60,000.
