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Review to take place every three years
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We have accepted with mixed feelings – Ajaero
By Egena Sunday Ode
The impasse over the minimum wage appears to have been resolved at last as President Bola Tinubu and the organized labour have agreed on N70,000 as the new national minimum wage.
The agreement reached on Thursday followed a long drawn battle between the workers and the government, following increasing economic hardship in the country, especially in the past one year.
The agreement was reached at a meeting Tinubu had at the Presidential Villa, Abuja with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) led by their presidents, Joe Ajaero and Festus Usifoh, respectively.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed the agreement while briefing correspondents at the end of the meeting.
He said the president shifted from the N62,000 to N70,000 with a commitment to embark on massive investment in infrastructure, renewable energy as well as to make CNG buses available.
The review of the national minimum wage will also now come after every three years.
The minister of information said: “Today is a happy day for Nigeria. You recall that last week. we had a meeting here and the organized private sector and the sub-nationals have also held their various meetings with Mr. President following the submission of the tripartite agreement to Mr. President.
“Labour came last week. They had meeting with Mr. President. They asked for adjournment for a week to go and consult further. They did those consultations. They have come back today and we have met with Mr. President.
“We’re happy to announce today that both the federal government and organized Labour have agreed on an increase on the N62,000.
“The new national minimum wage that we expect us to present, to submit to the National Assembly for legislation is N70,000. But that is not all.
“There is also a boost like Mr. President has assured in ensuring that massive investment is going to be made in the area of infrastructure. There is also a deepening of the investment of the federal government in renewable energy.
“More money is going to go into the acquisition of more buses, the CNG buses, Nigeria is going to be more CNG compliant, according to the President.
“We’re moving in this transition to renewable and all other things that Mr. President has assured Labour, the issue of SSANU and NASU is also going to be looked at.
“And we are happy, we are very thankful of the role that the organized labour has played today. They recognized the federal government’s role in ensuring that we have the local government autonomy, and also ensuring that both the organized Labour and the government are on the same page today.
“They have seen the magnanimity of the President and today the leadership of Laborur said they didn’t come here for negotiation. Not at all. They came here in that deep sense of patriotism to ensure that Nigeria remains united, Nigeria becomes more prosperous and it is in that spirit, that they are in agreement with what the federal government has done today.
“We want to thank level for their patriotism. We also want to thank Mr President, the federal government, the sub-nationals and organized private sector for going through this painstaking effort but also ensuring that at the end of the day Nigera is the winner for it all.”
Minister of state for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, said the president told the Labour leaders that he is also their president and assured that he will not disappoint.
She said: “At the end of the day, the consultation came, very fruitful because the President said he has to be a father, that it is not the issue of the law of who is right, or who will blink the first, that he is our Father, like he has always said, that we should end the issue of give me 1000, add 1000 and all that.
“That, first and foremost, that the review of this minimum wage policy has to be reduced to three years, that five years is too long a time to get any minimum wage review. That’s not very healthy.
