No going back on 250,000 Minimum Wage,TUC.

No going back on 250,000 Minimum Wage,TUC.

Festus Osifo, the president of the Trade Union Congress, stated on Tuesday that the organized labor will not go back on 250,000 minimum wage benchmark for workers in Nigeria.

Osifo added that the Nigeria Labour Congress and the TUC were meeting with federal government representatives in order to agree on a minimum wage.

With the subject, “The Dynamic Woman: Navigating Challenges in a Constantly Evolving World,” he made this revelation during the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Women Commission’s inaugural Annual Convention in Abuja.

Following President Bola Tinubu‘s decision to consult with stakeholders before submitting the bill to the National Assembly, talks on a new national minimum wage have come to a halt.

Speaking at the occasion, Osifo stated that labor and the government were still fine-tuning the negotiations over a new minimum wage, rather than abandoning them.

Labour is demanding N250,000 as the new minimum wage, despite the Federal Government and the Organized Private Sector having agreed on N62,000 as the amount.

“The talks over the minimum wage cannot end. It took nearly two years for the 2019 minimum wage—which has now expired—to become a reality. The talks were initiated in 2017.

The TUC president declared, “We will make sure this one is fast-tracked so we are not in the predicament that we were in 2019 which took two years.” This was a pledge made to you when we started in January of this year.

He maintained that the President wanted more discussions before presenting the minimum wage to the National Assembly, but that it was still receiving consideration.

“We filed the divergent position in June, and as you are aware, at that time the President publicly stated that he wished to consult with all relevant parties, including labor unions, local government chairmen, governors, and organized business sectors. As a result, we are currently engaging in some outreach and dialogue.”

“In order to ensure that the minimum wage that will be presented to the National Assembly will truly serve the needs of the most impoverished, we are working within rather than yelling in the media.

As a result, this law will shortly be submitted in full. As the ideal minimum wage, we continue to insist on the N250,000 standard,” Osifo said.