On Wednesday, organized labour representatives walked out of a minimum wage committee meeting with the Federal Government in protest over the proposed new wage of N48,000. The labour unions, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), had initially demanded a new minimum wage of N615,000 and set a deadline of May 31 for the government to finalize the negotiations.
The Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage resumed negotiations on Wednesday. Sources from Vanguard reported that representatives of the NLC and TUC were furious over the government's offer. Theophilus Ndubuaku, one of the NLC representatives, expressed the union’s frustration, questioning whether the N48,000 was intended to cover transport, food, clothing, or housing.
"We told them that since they are not serious, we better just leave, so we stormed out of the place," Ndubuaku stated. The offer was presented by the Permanent Secretary from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation's office.
NLC President Joe Ajaero emphasized that the government has until the end of the month to make a decision, warning that the labour unions will take action if their ultimatum is not met. TUC Deputy President Tommy Okon, who was also present at the meeting, co-signed a joint statement with Ajaero. The statement criticized the government's proposal of N48,000 as an insult to Nigerian workers, highlighting the disparity between this offer and the N54,000 proposed by the Organized Private Sector (OPS), where the least paid workers receive N78,000 per month.
The statement also condemned the government's failure to provide data to support their offer, accusing them of lacking transparency and good faith, which undermines the credibility of the negotiation process. The unions argued that accepting the proposed N48,000 wage would effectively reduce the income of federal workers, who currently receive a total of N77,000 when including Buhari’s 40% Peculiar allowance and the N35,000 wage award.
The NLC and TUC reiterated their proposal for a N615,000 minimum wage, citing the high cost of living in Nigeria as the basis for their demand. This proposal was made on April 14 following consultations between the NLC and TUC. The unions pointed out that the current minimum wage of N30,000 is insufficient to support the average Nigerian worker, noting that many governors are not even paying the current minimum wage, which is set to expire five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019.
The unions have repeatedly called on President Bola Tinubu's administration to expedite the review of wage awards to reflect contemporary economic demands. In January, the Federal Government established a 37-man Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage to recommend a new national minimum wage for the country. Initially, the NLC proposed a minimum wage of N1 million, due to rising inflation pushing many Nigerians into poverty.
