The organised labour on Tuesday rejected the federal government’s updated N60,000 minimum wage proposal at the end of the tripartite committee meeting in Abuja.
This will be the fourth proposal the labour leaders have rejected in two months since the discussion on minimum wage began.
THE WHISTLER had earlier reported that the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) slashed their demand by N118,000 to N497,000 from the earlier N615,000 demanded.
The last meeting held on Wednesday, May 22, ended in deadlock as the organised labour condemned the N57,000 proposal from the federal government, which was slightly increased by N3,000 from the N54,000 earlier proposed.
This prompted all members of the tripartite committee to reconvene today, (Tuesday, May 2024) for the continuation of the minimum wage discussion, with the federal government pleading with the labour leaders to reconsider their stand.
However, THE WHISTLER gathered that the meeting ended in deadlock again, as the N3,000 which was added by the federal government to the N57,000 was rejected by labour leaders.
Speaking to THE WHISTLER, the NLC Head of Information, Benson Upah, said “We cannot accept N60,000 as minimum wage, what will this get a common man every month?
“If the federal government is sincere, they should be able to break things down by backing their proposal, but they can’t. The government brought this upon itself and the people through its various economic reforms and policies”.
When asked if Labour was demanding N100, 000 as earlier reported in some media platforms, he said: “Labour has not offered any N100,000, openly or secretly or suggestively. Our last demand is N494,000 as a mark of honour as we didn’t want to appear fixated from the N615,000 earlier proposed”.
Also, a top source at the negotiation table confirmed to THE WHISTLER that N60,000 rejected was not a serious offer.
The source also noted that minimum wage discussion has stalled as the meeting was adjourned indefinitely.
The source said, “They added N3,000 and we reduced N3,000, so the discussion was adjourned”.
When asked about the new date for the meeting, the source said, “The federal government said they will communicate with us”.
