Minimum Wage: Labor Threatens Anambra Protest, Demands May 31 Deadline

Minimum Wage: Labor Threatens Anambra Protest, Demands May 31 Deadline

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), together known as Organised Labour, have reaffirmed their ultimatum to the Federal Government to comply with all of their requests by May 31, 2024. These demands include the establishment of a new national minimum wage and the reversal of the increase in energy tariffs.

In response to the urgent national challenges confronting Nigerian workers, the National Executive Councils (NEC) of the NLC and TUC called an emergency meeting on Monday.

The labor leaders talked about a number of topics, including certain state governments’ continued noncompliance with the 2019 National Minimum Wage Act.

The labor unions also instructed their members in Anambra State to organize for an industrial action by May 23, 2024, in the event that the state government did not acquiesce to the demands of workers, as stated in the resolution that was jointly signed by TUC leader Festus Osifo and NLC President Joe Ajaero.

“The NEC recognizes that discussions about the new national minimum wage are still in progress between the federal government, the Organised Private Sector (OPS), and the NLC/TUC. The NEC acknowledges the efforts made thus far and stresses the need for a swift and just agreement that takes into account the actual worth of Nigerian workers’ contributions to the country’s development as well as the current survival crisis that Nigerians are experiencing as a result of government policies.

“The NEC reaffirms its dedication to making sure worker welfare and interests are sufficiently safeguarded during the bargaining process. Therefore, the NEC-in-session restates the directive to the federal government that was sent by the NLC and TUC and is set to expire on the final day of this month.

It highlights that the demands made by Nigerian workers are non-negotiable and calls on the government to give the resolution of these issues top priority in order to promote industrial peace.

“The NEC-in-session further instructed all state Councils whose state governments have not yet fully implemented the N30,000 (thirty-thousand naira) National Minimum Wage and its ensuing adjustments to promptly issue a joint two-week ultimatum to the responsible state Governments in order to prevent industrial action.

The NEC-in-session thus reiterates the combined ultimatum of the NLC and TUC, which was previously given to the Anambra state government by its Anambra state councils. That’s why, by Thursday, May 23, 2024, if the state government does not comply with worker demands, it has instructed all affiliates and workers in the state council to organize their members to guarantee a successful action.

Labor leaves the negotiation table.
After the Federal Government proposed an N48,000 minimum salary last week, labor groups withdrew from minimum wage talks with the government.

The offer was deemed absurd by the labor unions.

The president of the NLC asserted that the administration was not sincere in its attempts to negotiate a new minimum wage with labor.

The TUC president stated that the N48,000 idea is illogical. Osifo claims that while the lowest paid government employees currently make up to N77,000, the current proposal of N48,000 is “abysmal.”

N615,000 Salary Offer
In order to help workers deal with the numerous economic realities and high cost of living in Nigeria, the Organised Labour demanded N615,000 as the new minimum wage on April 14.

The labor unions bemoaned the fact that not all governors were paying the current wage award, which expired in April 2024, five years after former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Minimum Wage Act of 2019, claiming that the current minimum wage of N30,000 could no longer support the well-being of the average Nigerian worker. Every five years, the Act should be reviewed to ensure it still meets the needs of modern workers in terms of the economy.

The TUC and NLC have both on occasion urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to expedite the upward review of salary awards.

A 37-person Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage was established by the Federal Government earlier in January, and its duty is to propose a new national minimum wage for the nation.