The organised labour on Thursday reached a moment of compromise to end the lingering challenges between the organised labour and the federal government of Nigeria.
Since the start of the battle for an improved minimum wage for Nigerian workers, there have been several meetings which always end at deadlock and being inconclusive.
On Thursday, July 18, the delegation of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to finalise and agree on a national minimum wage.
It was later disclosed that the organised labour, with the well-being of Nigerians in their mind agreed the minimum wage to stay at #70,000 instead of #250,000 which was one of the offers on the table for them but the later being at the detriment of Nigerians.
The #250,000 minimum wage was promised with an extravagant hike in pump price while the #70,000 will bring normalcy in price of fuel.
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, says the Organised Labour rejected a proposal by President Bola Tinubu to pay ₦250,000 minimum wage and increase petrol prices.
“Accepting ₦70,000 was the best way to save Nigerians from further hardship,” Ajaero said shortly after Labour met with the President in Abuja.
“At last week’s meeting, the President brought a proposal that ‘I will give you guys ₦250,000’ if you allow me to equally increase the pump price of petroleum products’ and we said, ‘No, we need to go and consult’.
“Today, we went there to tell him, ‘No’. The labour movement can make sacrifices without allowing Nigerians to suffer further on the increase in the pump price of petroleum products.”
Ajaero also said the Organised Labour agreed to ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers because the wage reviews in the country will no longer be every five years but once in three years.
President Tinubu is expected to send an executive bill to the National Assembly on the agreed rate for onward legislation.
