Imo State governor and chairman of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, has announced that the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage was close to reaching an agreement on a new minimum wage for workers.
Speaking to journalists on Friday night during a break from the ongoing meeting of the committee in Abuja, which lasted over 12 hours, Uzodimma provided updates on the progress made so far.
“We had very fruitful deliberations,” Uzodimma stated. “Of course, you know it’s a technical subcommittee of a committee, and at the level of our committee, we have reached near consensus. It is our hope that by the time we get to the plenary, we will have a complete agreement. Maybe from there, the media can start their job. As it is now, I think we are better off than we were before the technical committee (meeting).”
When asked if the meeting had concluded, Uzodimma replied, “The technical committee is over, and of course, you know it’s a tripartite committee. We struggled to reach an agreement, at least between the government and the organised private sector. We are still engaging the Organised Labour, and I’m almost confident that in a few minutes from now, after the plenary, we would have reached a complete agreement.”
The prolonged negotiations between the Organised Labour and the Federal Government have put the nation on the edge following an indefinite nationwide strike action embarked upon by workers, which lasted more than 24 hours earlier in the week.
LEADERSHIP recalls that on Monday, both NLC and TUC jointly declared an indefinite strike after their demands for higher minimum wage and reversal of electricity tariff hike were not met. The strike, which disrupted various sectors of the economy, including aviation and electricity, was called off on Tuesday as both parties resumed negotiations.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, submitted the minimum wage cost to President Bola Tinubu on Thursday. However, some state governors have expressed concerns about their ability to pay a minimum wage of ₦60,000, an offer, which the Organised Labour has also rejected.
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