The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has refuted President Bola Tinubu’s assertion that a consensus has been reached on a new national minimum wage. In his Democracy Day address, the President claimed that an agreement had been reached between the Federal Government and organized labour, and that an executive bill would be sent to the National Assembly to formalize the new minimum wage.
However, the NLC acting President, Prince Adewale Adeyanju, stated that no agreement was reached by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage. Instead, two figures – N250,000 from organized labour and N62,000 from the government and organized private sector – were arrived at and were supposed to be submitted to the President.
Adeyanju emphasized that the NLC will not accept any national minimum wage figure that approximates a “starvation wage.” He also alleged that labour leaders were intimidated and harassed during the negotiations, and that the President may have been misled into believing that an agreement had been reached.
The NLC’s statement contradicts the President’s claims of a negotiated settlement, and suggests that the minimum wage dispute is far from resolved. The labour union is adamant that it will not accept a wage that perpetuates poverty among workers, and is seeking a more equitable agreement.