President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has once again proposed a new #62,000 as minimum wage to labour unions.
The organised labour on Monday, June 3 embarked on an indefinite strike to press home their demand of a good welfare package to public servants.
After a round of negotiation by the tripartite committee, it was suspended on Tuesday with a bow to make a major addition in the formerly proposed #60,000.
However, the organised labour is proposing N250,000 which is a shift from its earlier N494,000.
This brings to and end the deliberations on the new minimum wage by the tripartite committee set up by the Federal Government after several months.
The recommendations will be forwarded to President Tinubu, who is expected to send an executive bill to the National Assembly for legislative action.
While the review of the most suitable minimum wage is ongoing, governors of the 36 states of the Federation have pleaded for leniency while considering the new minimum wage as this could render a state with an average income bankrupt.
A statement by the Acting Director, Media Affairs and Public Relations of the Forum, Mrs Halima Ahmed, noted that if allowed to fly, many states will use all their monthly allocations from the federation account to pay workers’ salaries.
The governors appealed to members of the tripartite committee to agree on a minimum wage that would be fair and sustainable.
While the government and the organised private sector considered labour’s proposed N494,000 as over the roof of their demand, labour felt the offer of N60,000 was not considerate and cannot cater for an average worker considering the current economic situation of the country.
