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Minimum Wage: No Cause for Alarm Says Finance Minister
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Wale Edun, has assured that there is “no cause for alarm” in the ongoing negotiations regarding the new minimum wage for workers in Nigeria.
This statement came following his meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.
The assurance follows a directive from President Tinubu, who had given the finance minister a two-day deadline to present figures to the Organised Labour at the Tripartite Committee meeting concerning the new national minimum wage.
The meeting was held amidst discussions involving various high-level officials, including the Minister of Finance, Atiku Bagudu, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zaccheus Adedeji, and the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Ajuri Ngelale.
President Tinubu is reportedly committed to setting a minimum wage above N60,000, while the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have indicated they are not fixed on their initial demand of N494,000.
Following the government’s commitment, the Organised Labour suspended its indefinite strike on Tuesday, agreeing to continue negotiations daily for one week until a consensus on the new minimum wage is reached.
The discussions are seen as crucial in determining the final figure that will be presented at the upcoming Tripartite Committee meeting.
