‘We Still Insist On ₦250,000 Minimum Wage,– NLC

The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, has dismissed claims that the negotiation for a new national minimum wage is dead.

According to Plateau News, Osifo made this known on Tuesday, stating that the Federal Government is still in discussions with relevant stakeholders, including the Nigerian Governors Forum, Local Government Administrators, the Organised Private Sector, and Labour Unions.

As reported by the Daily Post, Osifo emphasized that the unions remain firm on their demand for a N250,000 minimum wage, a recommendation submitted to the President by the Presidential Tripartite Committee on the New National Minimum Wage.

Osifo highlighted that the current minimum wage of N30,000 took two years to negotiate, but assured that significant progress has been made since the negotiations began in January 2024.

He stated, “Minimum wage negotiations cannot be dead. If you recall, we started the minimum wage negotiations in 2017, which resulted in the N30,000 wage signed in 2019. It took about two years to finalize.

We promised that when we started in January, we would fast-track this process to avoid the delays experienced in 2019.”

Osifo continued, “In June, we submitted divergent positions, and President Tinubu expressed his intent to consult across various sectors, including governors, local government chairmen, the organized private sector, and labor unions.

We are currently engaging in these consultations to ensure that the final proposal to the National Assembly represents a minimum wage that adequately addresses the needs of the poorest citizens.”

He concluded by reiterating, “Although there may not be much public discussion at the moment, we are working diligently behind the scenes to ensure this bill is submitted soon. We still insist on the N250,000 benchmark as the ideal minimum wage.”