Proposed minimum wage may not last up to five years, says Tinubu

The Nigeria’s President Bola  Tinubu on Wednesday hinted that the proposed minimum wage may not last up to five years, adding that he will soon send a National Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly for passage.

Penpushing reports that Tinubu made this known during a broadcast to commemorate Democracy Day, adding that the proposed minimum could be reviewed again within the next five years, disclosing that government had negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organised labour on a new national minimum wage.

“We have negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organised labour on a new national minimum wage. We shall soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of our law for the next five years or less’, he said.

Penpushing further reports that Tinubu stated that despite the tough negotiation with labour leaders on the minimum wage, his government was democratic and never cracked down on the leaders.

‘In the face of labour’s call for a national strike, we did not seek to oppress or crack down on the workers as a dictatorial government would have done. We chose the path of cooperation over conflict. No one was arrested or threatened. Instead, the labour leadership was invited to break bread and negotiate towards a good-faith resolution’, he said.

‘Reasoned discussion and principled compromise are hallmarks of democracy. These themes shall continue to animate my policies and interactions with the constituent parts of our political economy,” he added.

Penpushing also reports that it is recalled that the Tripartite Committee on the New National Minimum Wage submitted its report to the Nigerian government on Monday, the figures agreed upon by organised labour and the government have yet to converge.

Meanwhile, at the last meeting held by the Tripartite Committee on the New Minimum Wage on Friday in Abuja, labour reduced its demand to N250,000 from N494,000, while the federal government increased its offer from N60,000 to N62,000.

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