Organized labor will meet with President Bola Tinubu again in seven days to continue discussions on the minimum wage for workers.
Speaking to State House correspondents in Abuja on Thursday, Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, expressed optimism that the minimum wage issue would soon be resolved.
The minister’s comments came shortly after President Tinubu met with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
“It was a fruitful meeting, like a father talking to his children. We are hopeful that everything will be resolved soon,” she said.
“When a father and his children talk, progress is made. That’s exactly what happened. The meeting lasted almost an hour, but it was all positive.”
NLC President Joe Ajaero clarified that the meeting was a discussion, not a negotiation.
“It wasn’t a negotiation but a discussion, and we have had that discussion,” Ajaero said.
“We agreed to review the terms and reconvene in a week.
“We didn’t discuss specific amounts yet. The current proposals of N250,000 and N62,000 remain until we complete this conversation.”
TUC President Festus Osifo added that the meeting addressed issues currently affecting Nigerians.
On June 3, the NLC and TUC launched a nationwide indefinite strike due to the federal government’s refusal to meet their minimum wage demands.
The labor unions proposed N494,000 as the new minimum wage, citing inflation and economic hardship, while rejecting the federal government’s N60,000 offer.
On June 7, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) stated that a N60,000 minimum wage would be unsustainable.
At the last meeting of the tripartite committee set up to negotiate the minimum wage, labor rejected the N62,000 proposed by the government and reduced their demand to N250,000.
