President Bola Tinubu and the LEADERSHIP of organised labour have adjourned talks till next for wider consultation with stakeholders on the new national minimum wage.
The president met yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) apparently to end the protracted imbroglio over the new wage.
Tinubu said Nigerian workers deserve improved welfare, better wages, and safe and enhanced working conditions as the nation’s driving force.
The meeting was attended by NLC president Comrade Joe Ajaero and his of Nigeria TUC counterpart Comrade Festus Osifo.
Tinubu, in a statement by presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale, 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,” the President said.
However, the president called for realistic expectations as regards the minimum wage question, stating: “You have to cut your coat according to available cloth. Before we can finalize on the minimum wage process, we have to look at the structure.”
“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. This process has much dynamism if we are not myopic in our approaches. We can take a surgical approach based on pragmatism and a deep understanding of all factors.”
In his remarks, 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 pesident on the Supreme Court’s judgement affirming the constitutional rights of local governments regarding 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 it. 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.
Also, Osifo said 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.
“We commend you on the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court. History will not forget what has happened today. With this judgement, we believe Nigeria will make progress,” the TUC President also said.
Ajaero told State House correspondents that, “We didn’t go down there to talk naira and kobo.”
He said the previous proposals – the government’s N62,000 and labour’s N250,000 – remain unchanged pending further talks.
The meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes, focused on broader economic issues affecting Nigerian workers.
Osifo said they presented arguments on “economic difficulties and the value of the naira, how it has also eroded, and how these have affected the prices of commodities and goods in the market.”
Both parties agreed to reconvene in seven days after further consultations.
Minister of Information Mohammed Idris described the minimum wage deliberations as “a work in progress.”
