Tripartite Committee List Reasons Organised Labour Should Review Stance On Minimum Wage

The Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage has provided reasons for organised labour to reconsider its demand for minimum wage.

Naija News reports that the chairman of the committee, Goni Aji, disclosed this in Abuja on Sunday.

The organized labour is demanding ₦250,000 as the minimum wage per month, while the Federal Government and Organized Private Sector have proposed ₦62,000 per month.

Goni urged the labour union to reconsider its position, taking into account economic factors and the non-monetary incentives already provided by the Federal Government to workers.

He listed such incentives to include the award of ₦35,000 wage for all treasury-paid federal workers, ₦100 billion for the procurement of gas-fueled buses, and conversion to gas kits.

Furthermore, he outlined the ₦125 billion conditional grant, financial inclusion for small and medium-scale enterprises, and the allocation of ₦25,000 to 15 million households for three months, based on his remarks.

Moreover, he pointed out the ₦185 billion palliative loans to states to offset the consequences of fuel subsidy removal and the ₦200 billion to support the cultivation of hectares of land to increase food production.

He said that there was an additional ₦75 billion to strengthen the manufacturing sector and ₦1 trillion for student loans for higher education.

He clarified that 42,000 metric tonnes of grains were released from strategic reserves, along with the purchase and subsequent distribution of 60,000 metric tonnes of rice to the millers association.

Goni mentioned the recent salary increase of 25 percent and 35 percent on all consolidated salary structures for federal workers, along with the 90 percent subsidy on health costs for federal civil servants enrolled in the health insurance program.

All these, he said, should be considered by the labor unions, and they should accept the ₦62,000 being offered by the Federal Government.

He further mentioned that it was not fair to link the strike to electricity price increases when determining wages.