NLC makes fresh minimum wage demand, tells workers when to expect increment

The organised labour said it has submitted a fresh demand for minimum wage above N56,000 to the tripartite committee on minimum wage.

It also assured that talks on the workers’ salaries review would be concluded between June and July this year.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, said the new demand was to reflect inflation and other economic realities in the country.

The acting NLC President, Kiri Mohammed, disclosed this at the 11th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Civil Service Union on Thursday in Abuja.

Mohammed did not mention the exact figure the organised labour was demanding but explained that it was a joint decision between the NLC and the Trade Union Congress.

He said, “We submitted our request, NLC has decided to look at the figure and modify it, we actually modified it, an upward review above N56,000, but I am not going to tell you how much because the president (Ayuba Wabba) is supposed to say it.

“We have submitted it to the secretariat of the tripartite committee. The review is in conjunction with the TUC. You can’t do it alone, all of us met and decided to put heads together and look at the realities on the ground.”

The NLC chief also expressed confidence that the minimum wage bill would be passed by the National Assembly and implemented by the Federal Government this year.

He said, “Who made the budget? I believe if they (government) are serious, we can finish this matter towards the middle of this year, June, July.

“If we can finish at that time, then before the end of the year, certainly the President must send whatever we agreed to the National Assembly for them to look at it and for him to assent it as a law, but I know that once we agreed, government would implement whatever is agreed.”

Mohammed, however, complained about the slow pace of negotiations by the tripartite committee, noting that it had not held any meeting since it was inaugurated.

He added, “We had an inaugural meeting and they have not called for a meeting, I won’t call it a deliberate delay, but it looks as if there is a deliberate delay. We have not started discussion or anything.”