NLC, TUC Ask Govt to Step Down Issue of Minimum Wage, Details Emerge

NLC, TUC Ask Govt to Step Down Issue of Minimum Wage, Details Emerge

  • Almost a month after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the new national minimum wage of N70,000 into law, implementation has become a topical subject
  • NLC and TUC in Delta told the state government that the implementation of the new minimum wage of N70,000 should begin after receiving the template and consequential adjustment details from the Tinubu administration
  • Legit.ng reports that wages have become the top issue for Nigeria’s organised labour movements in the past year

Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering public journalism.

Asaba, Delta state - As attention remains on the implementation of the new national minimum wage, Goodluck Ofobruku, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) chairman in Delta, and his Trade Union (TUC) counterpart, Martins Bolum, have specifically requested a stay of action by the state government “in the best interest of workers.”

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Details emerge as NLC and TUC ask govt to step down issue of minimum wage
Public servants in Delta state and other parts of Nigeria may have to wait for more time to start receiving the N70,000 minimum wage. Photo credit: @NLCHeadquarters
Source: Twitter

Despite being Africa’s fourth-largest economy, Nigeria’s minimum wage is not among the continent’s top ten, lagging far behind countries like Seychelles, where workers receive a minimum wage of $465.4 monthly.

Legit.ng reports that after months of failed discussions, in July, the organised labour and the federal government agreed on N70,000 as a new minimum wage.

Following the agreement, the national assembly amended the minimum wage act, which was subsequently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.

Minimum wage: Delta NLC awaiting FG's template

Not much has been heard at the sub-national level about the new minimum wage, which replaced the former N30,000 that expired last April, according to the former act.

Explaining the reason for the delayed implementation of the new minimum wage in Delta state, NLC's Ofobruku assured workers that they had nothing to fear as the funds for the new minimum wage were already in the 2024 budget.

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Minimum wage: Anxiety as labour discloses next line of action over non-release of N70,000 template

Business Day Newspaper quoted Ofobruku as saying:

“We asked the government to step down the issue of the new minimum wage until we see the template.
“As we speak, we’ve been informed that the salary adjustments for levels 1 to 5 are ready while levels 6 and above will be finalised in about two weeks.
“However, some of us objected to this phased approach because there has never been a time where implementation starts with the junior cadre first."

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Ridwan Adeola avatar

Ridwan Adeola (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng and a certified journalist with over 9 years of experience. He edited Politics Nigeria's articles, was the Acting Editor of AllNews Nigeria and Fact-Checking Researcher (Africa Check). He received his HND in Mass Communication from The Polytechnic Ibadan. He received a Certificate of Achievement (Journalism Clinic’s Fix The Leak masterclass, 2021) and also completed Google News Initiative's Advance digital reporting curriculum. Contact him at ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.