The Federal Government has increased its offer from N54,000 to N57,000 in the ongoing national minimum wage negotiations with organized Labour and the Organized Private Sector (OPS). On Tuesday, the government initially proposed a minimum wage of N54,000. However, after a brief consultation, the government team added an extra N3,000 to align with the OPS’s latest offer.
The OPS raised its offer to N57,000 earlier today, up from the initial N54,000 it presented during last week’s meeting. In contrast, organized Labour initially demanded N615,000, citing the current economic realities, but the federal government rejected this proposal. This significant disparity led to a stalemate, as both sides could not compromise.
In an effort to facilitate a resolution and expedite the negotiations, organized Labour lowered its demand from N615,000 to N500,000 during the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage meeting on Wednesday. A source at the meeting informed Vanguard that the government team remains firm on their N54,000 offer, citing a lack of funds and the private sector’s inability to meet higher wage demands. Despite this, the private sector has shown flexibility by increasing its offer to N57,000.
According to the source, the government acknowledges the validity of the evidence-based presentation by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) but argues that eight states need to pay or fully implement the 2019 minimum wage. The government emphasizes financial constraints and the private sector’s limited capacity to pay higher wages.
The source also mentioned that organized Labour was requested to further adjust their demands in response to the government’s stance. Consequently, Labour has reduced its demand to N500,000 to move the negotiations forward.
