New minimum wage announcement on May 1 not feasible — TUC president
By Jeffrey Agbo
President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, has said it is feasible for the Nigerian government to announce the new minimum wage on May 1.
“The negotiation by the tripartite committee is still on going. If you remember, the TUC earlier submitted N447, 000 as the new minimum wage but we have harmonised our figure with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),” Osifo told reporters on Friday in Abuja.
“It is now N615,000. Regarding the when for the new minimum wage, the committee is still working.
“So, certainly May 1, will not work for the pronouncement of the new minimum wage. Except if the Federal Government wants to pay the minimum wage of N500, 000 to workers.”
He, however, said that the N615,000 demanded by the organised labour is not sacrosanct.
“The government also has its markup and so conversations and negotiations will start and end somewhere,” he said.
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Osifo also noted that before organised labour arrived at that amount, a proper study was conducted.
“If you look at the N615,000, you will think that the amount is right but at about the time we did that computation, a dollar was about N1,700.
“I am hopeful that the committee will meet after May 1,” he said.
The 37-member tripartite committee on minimum wage was set up by the Federal Government to continue further negotiations and consultations on the new minimum wage.
The National Minimum Wage Committee is chaired by former head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji, with other members drawn from the Federal Government and state governments, the private sector as well as the organised labour.
Vice President Kashim Shettima said the setting up of the minimum wage review committee is a reaffirmation of President Bola Tinubu’s desire to motivate the nation’s workforce which he describes as the cornerstone of the administration.
Shettima noted that though decisions made to salvage the economy remain inevitable, the Federal Government is not oblivious of the short-term implications, assuring Nigerians of better days ahead.
He urged the committee to be diligent and consult widely in arriving at a fair and decent wage that can alleviate the suffering of the people.
