*Labour Eyes N250,000, FG Targets N62,000, Govs N57,000

AN immediate end to the industrial crisis in Nigeria does not appear in the horizon, as disagreement over the new national minimum wage lingers, with the parties involved- the Federal Government, Organised Private Sector (OPS) and Labour settling for different amounts.

While the Federal Government may have agreed to pay a minimum monthly wage of between N60,000 and N65,000 as the new minimum wage, state governors and the OPS say they would not be able to pay N60,000, insisting that any amount above N57,000 might not be sustainable, even as Labour was reported to have set its eyes on N250,000.

The governor argued that the states would be left with nothing for developmental projects if they accept to pay a minimum wage above N57,000, as most of them spend a percentage of their revenue as wages to workers.

     However, negotiation continue, following the disparities in the offers, as the Labour has rejected the N60,000 new minimum wage offer, but had shifted ground from its N494,000 demand.

     The labour unions insisted that the minimum wage of N30,000, which expired in April, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari, was grossly inadequate in the current economic climate.

Even the current offer has been described as ‘unsubstantial’ by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, adding: “It is still not substantial compared to what we need to get a family moving. 

“The economy of the workers is totally destroyed. In fact, the workers don’t have any economy. I think there are two economies in the country- the economy of the bourgeoisie and the economy of the workers. I think we have to harmonise this, so that we can have a meeting point.”

   The wage disagreement had led to labour’s strike on Monday, June 3, which grounded economic activities until it was ‘relaxed’ on Tuesday for one week to allow for further negotiations towards an agreement.

But after a series of tripartite meeting, the issues remained unresolved, fuelling speculations of possible resumption of the strike if nothing happens by Tuesday, June11.

On their part, the governors, under the aegis of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), insisted they cannot pay N60,000 minimum wage, accusing the Federal Government of acceding to Labour without the input states, who cannot pay above N57,000 to over-bloated civil services.

The NGF, in a statement by its acting Director of Media and Public Affairs, Halimah Ahmed, expressed concerns that if the N60,000 minimum wage was adopted, many states would allocate their entire allocations to salaries, leaving no resources for development projects.

      It stated: “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum is in agreement that a new minimum wage is due. The Forum also sympathises with Labour unions in their push for higher wages.

“However, the Forum urges all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners.

“The NGF cautions parties in this important discussion to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.”

The NGF urged all parties involved in the negotiation process, particularly the labour unions, to take into account all socio-economic factors and reach a sustainable agreement.

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has assured that the Tripartite Committee was close to an agreement on a new national minimum wage.

Speaking after a meeting of the committee on Friday, Uzodimma said: “We had a very fruitful deliberation and of course, you know it is a technical sub-committee of a committee.

“At the level of the committee, we have reached near consensus, and by the time we go to the plenary, we will have a complete agreement and maybe from there, the media can start their job. As it is now, I think we are better off than we were.”

Meanwhile, the NLC has criticised the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, for describing Monday’s shut down of the national grid as “treasonable felony and economic sabotage,” saying his utterances clearly exposed his personality.

In a statement, its Head, Information and Public Affairs, Benson Upah, NLC stated: “Those who loot our treasury around the country, those who divert public resources meant for hospitals and schools, those who are involved in foreign exchange round-tripping, padding of budgets and inflating contracts, including those who steal trillions of naira in the name of subsidy, are the real economic saboteurs who commit treasonable felony.”