From News Editor
The organised labour movement has expressed the expectation of Nigerian workers that the new minimum wage would be announced, passed into law, and its implementation begin before the end of July 2024.
President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Festus Osifo, made this known when he received the Special Adviser on Labour Matter from the Kogi State Governor, Onuh Edoka, and his delegation, who were in his office on Tuesday in Abuja, for a courtesy visit.
Osifo said there was a need for the national tripartite negotiation committee, made up of government, labour, and organised labour, to find a common ground so that the bill would receive prompt attention from President Bola Tinubu as well as the National Assembly and be passed into law.
He said: “What we are working on from both labour centres is that before the end of July, we should have a new minimum wage that must have passed through the processes and that must have been assented to by the President so that the plight of the workers will improve much more.
“So that the current economic challenges that we are facing as a country will be improved upon so that an average worker will be able to go to market and buy one or two things to take care of his or her family because of this skyrocketing inflation that we have today in our country
“As you are aware, Labour has submitted 250,000 Naira, the government and organised private sector 62,000 Naira. Let both parties come together; let all parties come together.
“We will resolve and have a common front so that the President will be able to send the bill to the National Assembly, and at the end of the day, we will have a new national minimum wage. This is key; this is a topic that is germane for all labour unions today in Nigeria.” {Tribune}
