Minimum Wage: Tinubu Meets Labour Thursday

• President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to meet with the Organized Labour (NLC and TUC) on Thursday to discuss a new minimum wage further
• The government and organized private sector proposed N62,000 as the new minimum wage, while the labour unions insisted on N250,000

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to meet with the Organised Labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), on Thursday. This was announced by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Monday.

The Minister revealed that last week’s meeting with the leadership of the NLC and TUC was part of ongoing consultations towards establishing a new minimum wage. He also mentioned that the President would send the bill on the new minimum wage and an amended budget to the National Assembly after the meeting. However, he did not specify the submission timeline.

Previously, President Tinubu met with the leadership of organized labour regarding the minimum wage issue. Due to disagreements among the stakeholders, the Tripartite Committee of the new National Minimum Wage submitted two figures to the President. The government team and the organized private sector proposed N62,000, while organized labour insisted on N250,000.

Upon receiving the committee’s report, President Tinubu promised to meet with relevant stakeholders to harmonize the figures before transmitting an executive bill to the National Assembly. Addressing State House Correspondents, Idris explained, “You are also aware that last week, the Nigerian Labour Congress met the president. This, of course, was part of the consultation that the President has agreed to.”

The Minister further explained that consultations included meetings with the organized sector and subnationals following the tripartite committee’s report. The aim is to ensure a thorough analysis and come up with a minimum wage that works for all Nigerians.

The government has also directed the Ministry of Budget to develop additional support for the 2024 budget to address any gaps that may arise. This supplementary budget will be part of the effort to establish a fair minimum wage.

Regarding the upcoming meeting with Labour, Idris stated, “The president is open to meeting the Nigerian Labour, Trade Union Congress, and all the affiliates. We expect that meeting to be held this coming Thursday.”

He added that the meeting would help finalize the agreement on the tripartite committee report, which the President would then transmit to the National Assembly for legislative backing.