Minimum Wage Strike: Organised Labour Takes Decision on FG’s Payment of N494,000

Minimum Wage Strike: Organised Labour Takes Decision on FG’s Payment of N494,000

  • Organised labour has expressed concerns about the federal government's willingness to meet its demand regarding the new minimum wage
  • The NLC and the TUC have not voiced an actual figure after suspending their strike for 5 days and demanding N494,000 as the minimum wage and Tinubu offered over N60,000
  • Benson Upah, head of department of Information NLC, shared further details on labour's agreement with the FG

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said that it is not fixated on a figure as negotiations continue with the federal government over a new national minimum wage.

Strike: NLC speaks on FG's latest minimum wage offer
NLC gives update on its N494,000 minimum wage demand. Photo credit: Nigeria Labour Congress HQ
Source: Facebook

Wage: Labour tells FG to offer a reasonable figure

Recall that the NLC and its Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Monday, June 3, commenced a nationwide strike over a new minimum wage and the recent hike in electricity tariff for Band A customers.

Read also

Minimum Wage: Labour considers slashing N494k demand as Tinubu gives fresh order, details emerge

But on Tuesday, June 4, organised labour suspended the industrial action for five days after reaching an agreement on a new minimum wage that will be “above N60,000.”

The government disclosed the figure on Monday, after a meeting with the the NLC and the TUC, at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) in Abuja.

Reacting to the development, on Tuesday, Benson Upah, Head of Department of Information NLC, disclosed that organised labour is not fixated on a figure but would consider a fair and reasonable figure that can take a family of six home, Vanguard reported.

Speaking during an appearance on Arise TV, he stated thus:

“We are not fixated on any figure; our first offer was N615,000, but we climbed down, and we’re now on N494,000. Let me be emphatic; our fixation is with value. If today the government takes the needed decisions to create value around the naira, we’ll be ready to take a figure that is realistic.

Read also

NLC/TUC vows to reject small addition to N60k as minimum wage, details emerge

“In 1981, the national minimum wage was N125, equivalent to $188. If the government takes the requisite decision to create value around the naira, we’ll be ready to take a figure that is fair and square.”

“Reject N60k slave wage”: Sowore urges organised labour

Legit.ng earlier reported that the convener of the Revolution Now Campaign, Omoyele Sowore, charged organised labour not to back down in their struggle for better minimum wage.

Sowore said the leadership of the NLC and the TUC should reject the "N60,000 slave wage".

According to Sowore, some of the people proposing the N60,000 minimum wage spend that same amount per minute.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Esther Odili avatar

Esther Odili (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Esther Odili is a journalist and a Politics/Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng with 6+ years of experience. She Holds OND and HND in Mass Communication from the Nigerian Institue of Journalism (NIJ), where she was recognized as the best student in print journalism in 2018. Before joining Legit.ng, Esther has worked with other reputable media houses, such as the New Telegraph newspaper and Galaxy Television. In 2024, Esther obtained a certificate in advanced digital reporting from the Google News Initiative. Email: esther.odili@corp.legit.ng.