The Organized Labour has called on President Bola Tinubu to engage in thorough consultations with its leadership before submitting the proposed minimum wage bill to the National Assembly.
This request comes amidst concerns from Labour that the anticipated National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, which would involve around 300 Labour leaders, has been delayed due to Tinubu’s failure to forward the bill.
In his Democracy Day address, President Tinubu claimed that a consensus had been reached with Labour on the new minimum wage. However, both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) refuted this claim.
Tinubu had assured that an executive bill would soon be sent to the National Assembly to formalize the agreement, emphasizing a preference for democratic approaches in labour matters over dictatorship.
Nearly a month after his speech, there is still uncertainty as neither Labour nor the Nigerian public has seen any action from the Federal Government.
A prominent Labour leader, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed his frustration in an exclusive phone interview with The PUNCH.
He stated, “As things stand, we cannot really do anything until we are aware of what they are trying to do. The delay in sending the bill to the National Assembly is even the reason we have yet to call for our NEC meeting. The President is supposed to decide on the impasse and then forward the bill to them. They need to come up with an official statement before we can decide on what to tell our people.”
He continued, “If he (Tinubu) singlehandedly takes a decision, you know it can’t be the same as the decision of the National Assembly. He needs to send the bill so the lawmakers can amend whatever he is sending and call for a public hearing. So we are waiting for him to make his move. But if he is wise as we believe, he will not make that move without consulting us directly before even sending the bill.”
The source also mentioned that a strike is unlikely if the Federal Government sticks to its proposed N62,000 minimum wage. However, Labour previously rejected this amount, deeming it insufficient given current economic conditions.
The last joint extraordinary National Executive Council meeting of the NLC and TUC took place on June 4 to discuss the continuation of their strike in light of the government’s offer. The government and the Organized Private Sector had proposed N62,000, which Labour criticized as inadequate.
In response, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, argued that the N250,000 demanded by the workers’ unions was unsustainable, stating that the Federal Government cannot allocate all its resources to such demands.
Meanwhile, Senator Orji Kalu, a former Governor of Abia, suggested that the minimum wage should be raised to N90,000 to better reflect the current economic realities. He explained, “I also believe that N62,000 cannot do anything. I propose N90,000. Why I propose N90,000 is very simple. We have not increased the minimum wage in five years. The civil servants need some good treatment and good behaviour.”