PUNCH
The Organised Labour still insists that the N250,000 benchmark remains the ideal minimum wage for workers in Nigeria, the President, Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, declared on Tuesday.
Osifo also stated that TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress were meeting with officials of the Federal Government to reach an agreement on the minimum wage.
He disclosed this at the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Women Commission maiden Annual Convention in Abuja, with the theme, ‘The Dynamic Woman: Navigating Challenges in a Constantly Evolving World.’
Discussions on a new national minimum wage has paused following the decision of President Bola Tinubu to consult with stakeholders before sending the bill to the National Assembly.
The Federal Government and Organised Private Sector have agreed on N62,000 as the new minimum wage, but labour is insisting on N250, 000.
Speaking at the event, Osifo said negotiations on the new minimum wage has not been abandoned, rather labour and the government were fine-tuning the matter.
“The minimum wage negotiations cannot be dead. The 2019 minimum wage (that has expired) took about two years to see the light of day. We started the negotiations in 2017.
“We promised you when we started in January (this year) that we will ensure this one is fast – tracked for us not to be in the conundrum that we were in 2019 which took two years,” the TUC president stated.
