President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday sent a national minimum wage bill to the House of Representatives in the National Assembly for approval.
KanyiDaily recalls that last Thursday, President Tinubu and labor leaders agreed on a new minimum wage of ₦70,000 for Nigerian workers.
This agreement followed a series of talks after months of unsuccessful negotiations between labor unions and a committee set up by the President in January.
Initially, the committee, which included state and federal government representatives and the private sector, proposed ₦62,000, while labor unions demanded ₦250,000, arguing that the current ₦30,000 minimum wage was unsustainable due to inflation and high living costs after the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Despite their initial demand for ₦250,000, labor unions accepted the President’s offer of ₦70,000.
Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), explained that labor accepted the ₦70,000 offer and rejected a proposal to pay ₦250,000 if petrol prices increased.
He also noted that the minimum wage will now be reviewed every three years instead of every five.
The President’s submission of the wage bill comes about six weeks after he announced in his Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2024, that an executive bill for the new national minimum wage would be sent to the National Assembly.
KanyiDaily recalls that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had disagreed with the Federal Government over the new minimum wage, stating that it’s not practical and won’t work.
