Again, Minimum Wage Negotiation Ends In Deadlock

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Minimum Wage negotiations has ones again hit a brick wall on Friday after the Federal Government raised its offer to N62,000, while the Organised Labour reduced its demand to N250,000 from N494,000.

The state governors on their part had earlier yesterday, while negotiations were still going on declared that they could not even pay the N60,000 minimum wage which had been proposed by the Federal Government before the government later increased it by N2,000.

It was gathered that the Organised Private Sector, OPS, was backing the government’s offer.

Following the disagreement the Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage, NNMW, has adjourned. According to the source “there was disagreement on the amount. The government offered N62,000 but Labour is now demanding N250,000.

The report is to be communicated to the President for further deliberation”.

Before the Federal Government raised its offer to N62,000 yesterday, the state governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF said that they could not pay the N60,000 minimum wage proposed by the Federal Government and which the organised labour had even rejected. The governors came up with this position as the Tripartite Committee set up by the government was meeting to finalise negotiations on minimum wage.

The governors said the N60,000 minimum wage proposal by the Federal Government was not sustainable arguing that if they try it, a few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month as they do not think this will be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.

According to the Governors, if they sustain the proposed N60 minimum wage by the Federal Government, it would result in many states spending all their Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes.

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the NGF acting Director of Media and Public Affairs, Hajiya Halimah Salihu Ahmed titled, “The forum’s stand on the: N60,000 minimum wage not sustainable: NGF”

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