Organised Labour has urged President Bola Tinubu to personally intervene in the ongoing minimum wage negotiations to avert the indefinite strike action scheduled to start on Monday.
The Federal Government warned that the national minimum wage demanded by labour could destabilize the economy.
Organised Labour had given a May 31, 2024, ultimatum on the new minimum wage. On Tuesday, May 28, talks between the Federal Government and Organised Labour broke down after the government and the Organised Private Sector raised their offers to N60,000.
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The government added N3,000 to its initial offer of N57,000 proposed last week, making the total figure N60,000. This was dismissed by labour at the meeting.
Several sources from the Trade Union Congress and Nigeria Labour Congress stressed that the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector should not expect labour to accept anything less than a six-digit offer.
The unions argued that the government was not serious about the negotiations, noting that the shift from N48,000 to N57,000 was too meager to be considered significant.
On Friday, the Nigeria Labour Congress declared an indefinite nationwide strike, starting on Monday, June 3, 2024, due to the Federal Government’s refusal to increase the proposed minimum wage above N60,000.
The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, announced that the strike followed failed negotiations between the government and organised labour.
Despite the government’s final offer of N60,000, which included a recent increase from an initial N57,000, the labour unions found the proposal insufficient.
Labour revised its demand, reducing it by N3,000 from the initial N497,000 proposed last week, setting the new proposal at N494,000. Despite this concession, the negotiations remained deadlocked as the government maintained its offer of N60,000, leading to the declaration of a nationwide indefinite strike.
She emphasized that the government is still willing to accommodate and listen to labour, highlighting the president’s commitment to Nigerian workers and citizens.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the sum of N494,000 demanded by organised labour, which would amount to N9.5 trillion yearly, could destabilize the economy and jeopardize the welfare of over 200 million Nigerians.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, Idris stated that the offer of N60,000 minimum wage by the Federal Government, which translates to a 100% increase on the existing minimum wage of 2019, had been accepted by the Organised Private Sector.
Both unions directed their members to shut down all operations in the oil sector, except for personnel manning safety operations.
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