President Bola Tinubu on Thursday assured Nigerian workers of a realistic minimum wage aimed at improving welfare and their working conditions.
Tinubu said this when he met with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) led by Joe Ajaero and that of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) led by Festus Osifo on Thursday in Abuja.
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The president’s meeting with the Labour leaders is not unconnected to an extended negotiation over a new minimum wage and fulfillment of other agreements reached between workers and the government.
While the Nigerian government proposed N62,000 as minimum wage, Labour said it would not go below N250,000.
A committee set up to negotiate with labour has since concluded its assignment and has submitted its report to the president.
During the meeting, Tinubu said he is concerned about the welfare of Nigerian workers and that his administration is prioritising their concerns.
“I pay attention to everything around me. A happy worker is a productive worker. And society depends on the productivity of the happy worker,” Tinubu said while urging labour to be realistic in their expectations for a minimum wage.
“You have to cut your coat according to available cloth. Before we can finalise on the minimum wage process, we have to look at the structure,” Tinubu said.
“Why must we adjust wages every five years? Why not two? Why not three years? What is a problem today can be eased up tomorrow. There is much dynamism to this process if we are not myopic in our approaches. We can take a surgical approach that is based on pragmatism and a deep understanding of all factors.”
NLC President Ajaero, emphasised the need for an upward adjustment to the minimum wage, noting: “Between living wage and minimum wage, we need to find a balance. Things are difficult for the Nigerian worker.”
He congratulated the president on the judgement of the Supreme Court, affirming the constitutional rights of local governments as regards financial autonomy and other salient principles.
“I have to congratulate you on the issue of local government autonomy. We have been in the streets protesting for local government autonomy. Now that there is light at the end of the tunnel, it will amount to ungratefulness if we fail to commend you,” the NLC president said.
Osifo stated that inflation has adversely affected the value of the naira and that the measures initiated by the government to address the rising cost of food and transportation need to kick in to give citizens relief.
He said the rollout of Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses will help in checking the high cost of transportation, while the recent directive on the suspension of duty on certain food imports will bring down the prices of food items if properly implemented.
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