Minimum Wage: Labour rejects FG’s N54,000, reduces demand to N500,000

At the current Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage meeting, organized labor has lowered its demand from N615,000 to N500,000 in an attempt to gain ground and expedite the negotiation of a new national minimum wage.

The government team is insistent on N54,000, citing of non-availability of fund and the private sector’s incapacity to pay, a source at the meeting informed Opinion Nigeria.

However, the private sector has added N3,000, making its offer N57,000 instead of N54,000.

“Government has agreed that NLC is using evidence-based presentation,” the source claims. However, they contend that eight states are either underpaying or failing to fully implement the minimum wage for 2019.

The source further said, “Government is talking of non-availability of fund. They are also talking about the inability of the private sector to pay.”

On Labour shifting of ground by the organised labour, the source said, “Labour has been requested to shift in response to the Government. They complied and came down to N500,000.”

He said that the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma was present at the meeting.

“”The Imo State Governor has stepped in. He is not a member of the committee but it is good that there is at least a governor, as the six governors in the committee have been regularly absent.”