The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has refuted President Bola Tinubu's claims that an agreement on a new national minimum wage has been reached. This contradiction emerged following the President's address during the 2024 Democracy Day celebration.
President Tinubu announced that a consensus had been achieved between the Federal Government and organized labour on the contentious issue of a new minimum wage. He stated that an executive bill would soon be presented to the National Assembly to formalize this agreement, highlighting his administration's preference for a democratic approach in handling labour union demands.
However, NLC acting President Prince Adewale Adeyanju issued a statement on Wednesday denying any such agreement. He clarified that the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage had not reached a consensus by the end of negotiations on June 7, 2024.
Adeyanju revealed that the figures of N250,000 proposed by organized labour and N62,000 suggested by the government and Organized Private Sector were to be submitted to the President. He asserted that any contrary information was inaccurate and unacceptable to the labour body.
"The NLC would have expected that the advisers of the President would have informed him that no agreement was reached on the base figure for a National Minimum Wage or its components," the statement read. "Our demand remains N250,000, and we have not been provided with compelling reasons to alter this position, which represents a significant concession by Nigerian workers during the negotiations."
Adeyanju suggested that President Tinubu might have been misled about the existence of an agreement with the NLC and TUC. He emphasized the importance of clarifying this misunderstanding to prevent confusion in the ongoing minimum wage discussions.
Further updates to follow...
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