For the second consecutive day, the ongoing tripartite negotiations on the new national minimum wage involving the Federal Government, organized labour, and the Organized Private Sector (OPS) ended in a stalemate. The government and private sector employers made minimal adjustments to their earlier offers, failing to agree with labour representatives. Notably, none of the six committee members attended the meeting, although Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma was present.
Earlier in the day, organized labour reduced its wage demand from N615,000 to N500,000 and N497,000. In response, OPS increased its previous offer of N54,000 to N57,000. Initgovernment’sast on their offer, the government’s negotiating team took a short consultation break and subsequently matched the OPS’s OPS by raising their proposal to N57,000. This marked a slight increase from the N54,000 government proposed on Tuesday.
Despite the government, the labour negotiating team rejected the new offers from the government and the OPS, stating they were not prepared to negotiate under the current terms. The government centred on financial constraints, and the private sector met higher wage demands, referencing the non-implementation of the 2019 minimum wage in eight states.
A source at the meeting disclosed that organized labour had complied with requests to adjust their demands, lowering their proposal to N500,000. However, they expressed frustration with the government, highlighting the apparent disparity between the government of financial difficulty and its spending on other areas, such as subsidies for hajj operations, renovations, and luxury purchases for government officials.
One labour leader voiced his discontent, pointing out that the government contradicted their claims of insufficient funds. He criticized the government for creating economic challenges through policies like subsidy removal and currency devaluation, which have disproportionately affected workers while benefiting political elites.
The labour leader emphasized that the government’s N57,000 was a wage reduction, as no worker currently earns that amount. Labour representatives requested a detailed breakdown of the N57,000 offer to understand its allocation towards transport, accommodation, and health, but this information still needs to be provided.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, presented the government’s. Other key government team members included the Ministers of Finance, Wale Edun, and Budget, Atiku Bagudu. The absence of the six governors representing the geopolitical zones was noted, though Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State attended briefly without providing a clear reason for his presence.
The meeting adjourned without resolution, and the negotiations are set to resume on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Labour representatives indicated that if an acceptable agreement is not reached by the end of May, they are prepared to initiate industrial actions to press for their demands. The ongoing impasse underscores the significant challenges in reconciling the divergent positions of the government, private sector, and labour representatives in the quest for a new national minimum wage.
