Organised Labour suspends strike, gives FG 5 days to resolve minimum wage issue
June 4, 2024348 views0 comments
Business a.m.
The Organised Labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), have agreed to suspend their nationwide strike for a period of five days. This move follows an intense six-hour meeting with representatives of the federal government in Abuja on Tuesday. where both sides discussed the contentious issue of the new minimum wage.
One of the leaders of the NLC, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the strike has been temporarily suspended to allow for further negotiations with the government.
According to reports, the suspension was considered a necessary step to facilitate a productive dialogue between the Organised Labour and the government representatives. The NLC and TUC leadership also stated that they would be releasing a formal statement shortly before the resumption of negotiations with the government.
Details of the agreement seen by Business a.m., indicated that during the negotiations, representatives of the federal government conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s willingness to consider a revised minimum wage, exceeding the previously proposed figure of N60,000.
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“The President of Nigeria, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is committed to establishing a National Minimum Wage higher than N60,000; and the Tripartite Committee will convene daily for the next week to finalise an agreeable National Minimum Wage,” the agreement partly read.
As part of the agreement reached during the negotiations, the Organised Labour consented to convene urgent consultations among its various branches and affiliates to review the latest minimum wage offer from the federal government.
Furthermore, the agreement also included a pledge by the federal government to ensure that no worker would be subject to victimization as a result of their participation in the strike action.
The conclusions of the negotiations between the were formalised in a document signed by Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation and Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, minister of state for labour and employment.