The Organised Labour in Nigeria has kicked against the decision of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to step down the memorandum on the report of the Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage.
The Head of Public Relations of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Benson Upah, who criticised the failure of FEC to consider the memo during Tuesday’s FEC meeting, said that stepping down the tripartite committee report “creates room for injurious speculations.”
Upah, declared that stepping down the minimum wage memo did not bode well for workers.
However, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Mohammed Idris, told journalists after the council meeting that the FEC stepped down the memorandum on the new minimum wage to allow for more consultations between President Bola Tinubu, state governors, local government authorities and the private sector.
According to the report by Punche newspaper on Wednesday, the minister said that the council deferred acting on the memo given that the Nigerian Federal Government is not the sole stakeholder on the national minimum wage issue.
The Nigerian Federal Government, Organised Private Sector and Labour had befor had held several meetings on the new minimum wage with the NLC and Trade Union Congress leaders insisting on N250,000.
On the other hand, the Federal Government, states and the OPS made a counter-offer of N62,000.
Idris said that the council deferred acting on the memo given that the Government was not the sole stakeholder on the national minimum wage issue.
Earlier, the Assistant General Secretary of the NLC, Chris Onyeka, said that Labour would not accept the latest offer of N62,000 and the N100,000 proposal made by some individuals and economists, while the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said that the unionists were waiting on the President to consider Labour’s proposal.
GIK/APA
Nigeria: Organised Labour kicks as govt steps down memo, demands consultation
