Organized labor, represented by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), has withdrawn from the ongoing negotiations over the minimum wage, citing dissatisfaction with what they perceive as inadequate offers from both the government and the Organised Private Sector (OPS).
According to a source within the TUC leadership present at the negotiation table, the government’s offer of N48,000 and the OPS’s offer of N54,000 were deemed “ridiculous” by the unionists. The source highlighted that while the government failed to provide any supporting data for its proposal, the OPS asserted that none of its members pays less than N78,000.
The TUC source recounted the sequence of events, stating that Labor initially proposed a minimum wage of N615,000, followed by the OPS’s offer of N54,000. Subsequently, the government proposed N48,000, which was perceived as lacking seriousness and evidence-based support. This led to the decision by organized labor to walk out of the negotiations, with the TUC emphasizing that they would return to the table when there is a genuine commitment to address the issue.
In response to the impasse, the NLC has called for an emergency press briefing to address the situation.
