New Minimum Wage: Nigerian Governors React As NLC, TUC Insists on N615,000 Under Tinubu
- The organised labour has received fresh backing in the quest for a new minimum wage for civil servants in Nigeria
- While the NLC and the TUC have continued to defend their demand for N615,000 as a new wage, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum has promised to improve the welfare of workers in their respective states
- The Chairman of the NGF and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, confirmed this development via a statement made available to journalists
TheTalk.NG journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
On Thursday, May 2, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), assured the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the workers of an improved and sustainable minimum wage.
NLC, TUC get fresh support from govs
Earlier this year, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu constituted a tripartite committee comprising government, labour, and private sector representatives to assess the N30,000 minimum wage implemented during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.
But recently, the two primary labour organisations, the NLC and the TUC presented a proposal of N615,000 minimum wage to the committee.
Despite the May Day celebrations on Wednesday, May 2, the government refrained from announcing a new minimum wage, citing its reluctance to accept labour’s proposal.
The NGF, in a communique issued by its chairman and Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara state, on Thursday, May 2, stated that the 37-member tripartite committee tasked with reviewing the national minimum wage is still in consultations and has not completed its work.
The governors’ forum stated that it is assessing each state government’s fiscal capacity and the potential effects of different proposals to determine an enhanced minimum wage that can be feasibly sustained by the states.
The communique read in part:
“The Forum celebrates with workers across the country for their dedication to service and patience, as we work with the Federal Government, labour, organised private sector and relevant stakeholders in arriving at an implementable national minimum wage.
“As members of the committee, we are reviewing our individual fiscal space as state governments and the consequential impact of various recommendations, to arrive at an improved minimum wage we can pay sustainably. We remain committed to the process and promise that better wages will be the invariable outcome of ongoing negotiations.”
State governors who have increased workers’ salaries
Meanwhile, TheTalk.NG reported that some state governors in Nigeria have increased the salaries of civil servants in their states due to the high cost of living.
Civil servants across the nation have been clamouring for an increase in their wages to reflect the current economic situation in the country and some have gotten their demand attended to.
Three Nigerian state governors have responded to workers’ demands and increased their salaries.
Source: TheTalk.NG
