President Bola Tinubu is currently meeting behind closed doors with the leadership of organised Labour at the State House, Abuja. The meeting started about 2 pm and centred on the thorny issue of the new national minimum wage.
The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress arrived in a white Hiace bus, led by their respective presidents, Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo.
This will be a high-stake meeting between labour leaders and the Chief Executive of the nation, particularly following the recent submission of two different minimum wage proposals to the President by the tripartite committee.
Where the committee, which is representing the organized private sector and the government, has come up with a proposal of N62,000 as minimum wage, organized Labour is demanding as much as N250,000. This wide gulf between these figures makes it impossible for the President to send any proposal to the National Assembly; he has rather embarked on extensive consultations with all relevant stakeholders to address and resolve the disagreements.
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Other critical government officials to follow up with the Labour representatives to the meeting are: National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Health and Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate; Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; and Minister of Education, Prof. Mamman Tahir.
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The meeting is important, as it will close the gap between what the government offered and what Labour demands—which is to have a living, sustainable minimum wage for Nigerian workers. Further details are still anticipated as the discussion progresses.
