The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) yesterday gave reasons why they accepted N70,000 as the new minimum wage for workers across the country.
The organised labour spoke after their meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Before now, the unions had insisted that they will not accept any amount below N250,000 as the minimum wage that will be acceptable by workers. This was after they brought down their demand from an initial N615,000, citing the prevailing economic hardship in Nigeria as the basis for their demand.
The workers’ representatives pointed to President Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy without putting in place shock absorbers to cushion the effects of that action.
They argued further that the floating of the naira, side by side subsidy removal made life extremely difficult for millions of Nigerians as cost of living quadrupled.
The labour also cited the hike in electricity tariff, among others, as reasons for their demand.
While making reference to the April 18, 2024 expiration date of the N30,000 minimum wage being implemented especially at the national level since 2019, the labour leaders continued to insist that the government must put in place a wage that will take care of the basic necessities of life for the average worker.
However, the governments at both the national and sub-national levels kept saying that there are no sufficient funds to meet the demands of the Nigerian workforce.
Last week, Labour met with President Tinubu but were unable to reach an agreement until yesterday.
The president said he had to intervene in the negotiations, knowing the economic challenges faced by many Nigerians, and the need to provide urgent succour.
There is more to N70,000 – Ajaero
Addressing State House reporters after the meeting with President Tinubu yesterday, Joe Ajaero, who is the President of NLC, said they accepted the offer because of the prevailing situation in the country, and the promises made by Tinubu that the minimum wage would be reviewed every three years instead of five years.
“What has been announced in terms of the amount of N70,000 happened to be where we are now. But the thing about it is that we will not wait for another five years to come for another review. Rather than settling on a figure that we (will) wait for five years, is like we will have to now negotiate even two times within five years, with a view to going up.
“That is one of the reasons we decided to reach where we are today. Because of the proviso that you know, you can review in the next three years. The other one, we came with other issues in the basket, like the issue of SSANU, NASU and others, especially with the affront by the Commissioner of Police, FCT; we brought it to Mr President, for that matter to be addressed. And magnanimously, he asked the agencies concerned to work out the modalities for the payment of those workers in the universities.”
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) had staged a protest yesterday in Abuja, over non payment of their withheld salaries after they joined the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in a prolonged strike action just before Tinubu took over power.
Ajaero said the government also promised other incentives which would lessen the burden of the prevailing hardship on Nigerians.
“We are taking it back to our constituency to see how we can get a buy in,” he said, adding that normally, their constituency always agrees with them.
In his remarks, the President of TUC, Festus Osifo said by next week, the federal government will put finishing touches to the minimum wage bill and transmit same to the National Assembly for passage.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, and the Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, had earlier offered additional explanations on the resolutions.
House Speaker reacts to new minimum wage
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, in a reaction to the development, commended President Tinubu for agreeing to the new national minimum wage of N70,000.
Hours after, a statement issued by the Tinubu’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said the entitlements of members of the SSANU and NASU would be considered, urging the Ministries of Finance, and Budget & Economic Planning to look at the possibilities of clearing the backlog.
Efforts to speak with the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) were not successful last night.
Workers, CSOs have different views
Mr Tunde Salman, the Team Lead/Convener, Good Governance Team (GGT) Nigeria, said while the new minimum wage is a good development, its implementation, especially in the states, remains of concern.
The Executive Director, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), Comrade Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said that the approval of N70,000 as the new national minimum wage is another indication that the welfare of Nigerians is not a top priority on the agenda of the current government.
“The question we should be asking the government is: what can N70,000 buy in Nigeria today? We can categorically say that that amount is not enough to buy a 50kg of rice, talk more of being enough to meet the basic needs of an average family of six people”, he asked.
Also, the Senior Communications Officer at Yiaga Africa, Mr Mark Amaza, said that while the new minimum wage is an improvement, it is grossly inadequate.
On his part, the Country Director of Action Aid Nigeria (AAN), Mr Andrew Mamedu, commended President Tinubu, saying it is a positive step toward improving the living conditions of the workforce.
Also, a cross section of federal workers in some ministries expressed mixed feelings about the development, but majorly said they expected more.
One of them, who gave her name simply as Mrs Habib, said that she expected nothing less than N120,000 given the present high cost of living.
When our correspondent interviewed other workers, many of them lamented bitterly about the newly approved wage.
A worker, Aisha A, said, for President Tinubu to approve only N70,000 meant that he does not appreciate the problems of Nigerians.
Another worker who simply identified himself as Gboye, described the development as “disappointing”.
On her part, another female civil servant, who preferred anonymity, expressed mixed feelings over the situation.