Organized labor opted not to attend a meeting of the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, NMW, citing the government’s proposed wage of N48,000 as insulting. Despite this, the federal government indicated its willingness to reconsider its offer.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the negotiating team representing organized labor, led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), rejected the government’s proposal, stating that it failed to meet the needs of Nigerian workers and fell short of expectations.
According to organized labor, the government’s offer effectively reduces the income of federal-level workers currently receiving N30,000, as mandated by law, augmented by additional allowances. This led to organized labor walking out of the meeting.
Following the walkout, the committee’s secretary, Ekpo Nta, sent a letter inviting organized labor back to the negotiating table for a meeting the next day. However, organized labor declined to attend, insisting they would return once the government demonstrated seriousness and transparency in the negotiation process.
Dr. Tommy Okon, a member of the labor negotiating team and deputy president of TUC, emphasized that they expected the government to present a more meaningful proposal before they would consider returning to negotiations.
In response to organized labor’s stance, the government pleaded for their return to the negotiation table and promised to reconsider its position. The Chairman of the Tripartite Committee on NNMW, representing the federal government, Bukar Aji, proposed a new date for the resumption of negotiations, aiming to expedite the process before the President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, travels to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
