Labour Reduces Minimum Wage Demand to N500,000

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

As negotiations on the new national minimum wage continues, organised labour yesterday shifted ground on its demand from N615,000 to N500,000.

The new concession by the labour movement which came after the rejection of the N54,000 offer by the government side forced the government team to go into separate consultation before reconvening of the meeting yesterday evening.

A reliable source at the Tripartite Committee meeting told THISDAY that government was expected to respond to the fresh submission made by labour with yet another proposal.

The source said: “Labour has stepped down their demand for N615,000. They are now negotiating for N500,000 as new national minimum wage.”

The federal government had stepped up on its offer last Tuesday by raising its proposed new minimum wage to N54,000 to be at par with what the organised private sector proposed.

However a member of the Tripartite Committee representing Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, said that labour rejected the upgraded offer from the government

Instead, Ndubuaku said that organised labour had maintained its position to demand N615,000 as new minimum wage.

He also said that the May 31 deadline labour had given to the government to conclude every negotiations still stands, adding that there may not be any other notice to government for strike if it fails to keep to the deadline.

But the tripartite committee again failed to achieve compromise on the figure that will form the new national minimum wage after over four hours of deliberations. The parties agreed to adjourn negotiations till Tuesday next week.

At the resumed meeting of the Committee on Wednesday, Governor of Imo state, Hope Uzodinma, was said to have stood in the Governors Forum.