The minimum wage negotiations between the Federal Government and Organized Labor were postponed until this Thursday, or today. The meeting was postponed by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage in anticipation of Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance, delivering President Bola Tinubu’s wage pattern today. On Tuesday, Tinubu gave the finance minister instructions to provide the financial implications of a new minimum wage within a two-day period.
The directive was given by the President at a meeting at the presidential villa in Abuja with the government negotiation team headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
According to labor union sources who were present at the committee meeting, the parties agreed to hold off on holding more talks until after the presidential template was finalized. “The meeting has been adjourned until Thursday,” an attendee source said. We shown empathy since, as everyone knows, the president gave the finance minister 48 hours to develop a minimum wage proposal. We chose to give them the time as a result. We intend to convene by 2:00 p.m. A senior labor official who serves as a labor representative on the tripartite committee clarified that the minimum wage negotiations depended heavily on the template.
The insider, who requested anonymity because he lacked authorization to provide details about the negotiations with the media, expressed optimism that the negotiations will move forward well when the parties are presented with the presidential template. The President wanted to know the financial effects of the new minimum wage in 48 hours, according to Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation. “We were all there to look at all issues, and the President has directed the minister of finance to do the numbers and get back to him between today and tomorrow so that we can have figures ready for negotiation with labor,” the minister of information told reporters when they were briefed on the directive from the president.
“The president is determined to go with what the committee has said and he’s also looking at the welfare of Nigerians,” Idris added, giving assurance that the president would be willing to accept the committee’s recommendations. “The government is constantly present to maintain a balance between official pronouncements and the realities on the ground. The government is neither in favor of nor against labor discussions or wage increases. As a result, we will put out every effort to guarantee that the government keeps any commitments it makes. That is the purpose of our gathering.
In addition, he stated that Tinubu gave the government delegates instructions to collaborate with the subnationals and the organized private sector in order to establish a new, fair salary award for Nigerians.
“The President has given a marching order that all those who are representatives of organized private sectors, the sub-nationals, and those who have negotiated on behalf of the Federal Government come together to have a new wage that is affordable, sustainable, and realistic for Nigerians,” Idris clarified. The pay is not solely determined by the Federal Government; as I previously stated, subnational corporations and the organized private sector are also participating, and Labor withdrew during that process. We are back at the negotiating table now.
In just one week, the minister promised, all hands will be ready to introduce a new minimum wage for Nigerians. “We will collaborate diligently over the course of the next week to establish a new wage for Nigeria that is reasonable, tenable, and appropriate,” Idris declared. Despite the National Assembly leadership’s intervention, labor went on a statewide strike on Monday and Tuesday, severely disrupting the country’s economy. In order to break the deadlock, the federal government was forced to call an emergency meeting and close banks, airports, public schools, and courts.
The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the SGF, and other leaders of the National Assembly met on Monday. On Tuesday, the unions stated that industrial action would be suspended for five days in exchange for President Tinubu’s agreement to pay a national minimum salary exceeding N60,000. The three-member group promised to meet every day until a new minimum wage was declared.
Festus Osifo, the president of the Trade Union Congress, indicated that the labor leaders were prepared to accept a reasonable compromise when he stated in an interview on Channels television that the unions would not insist on their N494,000 demand.
The union head stated that the new minimum wage must have the same purchasing power as N30,000 in 2019 and N18,000 in 2014, but he would not provide a precise sum. Airlines, however, bemoan the loss of revenue they suffered during the two-day strike called by labor organizations. Airport closures as a result of the action resulted to numerous cancelled flights and significant financial losses. Osita Okonkwo, the chief operating officer of United Nigeria Airlines, emphasized the serious effects of the strike on UNA’s operations.
“We didn’t fly for two days,” he stated. Our loss of revenue is in the millions. Every day, we complete roughly 24 flights; but, for two days, we didn’t complete 48. It runs into millions, as far as I’m aware. “We kept our passengers updated on the situation at all times. Our phone center was never empty. Now that we’ve lost two days of travel, the dilemma is what to do with passengers who wish to carry on with their companies and want to travel tomorrow, or today.
“After that, we have passengers scheduled to go today, or tomorrow. We are making every effort to accommodate them all. We scheduled additional flights whenever possible. You can’t overstress capability, though, as you are aware. In light of the events of the past two days, the majority of flights are currently filled. Not that we oppose the strike, but everyone is aware of the state of the nation. Okonkwo bemoaned the situation of passengers who were left stranded and advocated for the exemption of critical services from strikes. “Work is accomplishing understandable things. However, this kind of strike ought to be prohibited for critical services. hospitals and planes, as some passengers had to make connections. A few were left behind in Asaba, and they were meant to travel to Europe, he noted.
George Uriesi, the chief operating officer of Ibom Air, also voiced worry about the monetary losses incurred by the regional airlines during the strike. “Revenue was drastically lost. If your daily revenue was N100 and you don’t fly at all, you will most likely make N2 or N3. There’s also the additional burden of having to make accommodations for everyone who was unable to fly. As a result, you might not be able to sell seats for a while due of the backlog, he clarified. Olumide Ohunayo, the Assistant General Secretary of the Aviation Round Table, emphasized the strike’s wider effects on the aviation sector.
It’s not just the planes. The strike cost the aviation sector a great deal of money. Airport terminals, taxi drivers, concessionaires, airlines, and other parties. Actually, every aspect of the ecosystem—including the charter flights—lost millions of naira.
“A few flights were postponed. Now, travelers are compelled to postpone their travel plans in order to try to get seats at a later time. And because of the hurry to get seats, ticket prices have increased in order to secure those seats,” he said. “The domestic airlines will lose some money, and that will affect the economy,” stated John Ojikutu, CEO of Centurion Security Limited, highlighting the long-term economic consequences on the aviation sector. The type of money I am referring to is not provided by regional airlines, as their contribution is negligible. The issue arises when you contrast the money they get from ticket sales with the money we get from flying overseas.
He remarked, “They would have cleared all those passengers in the next two or three days, and we would now be back to our regular aviation problems, which are fuel and ticket fares.” Debo Adeniran, Executive Director of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, spoke on the subject of the protracted minimum wage negotiation and urged the Federal Government and labor unions to conclude their discussions as soon as possible. “After the 48 hours that the finance minister was granted, the labor unions and the FG shouldn’t spend any more time. Everything has already been decided upon; they must align their stances in accordance with their ability to gather funds, according to Adeniran.
He emphasized that negotiations must be completed quickly, saying that “labor unions and the FG should be realistic, which should not take an eternity to conclude.” They ought to strive to complete everything by today, tomorrow at the latest. Adeniran advised the labor unions not to rush into going on strike.
Auwal Rafsanjani, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center, cautioned the administration to be realistic and truthful in the negotiation process. “The federal government must have integrity and common sense. In labor, they ought to be able to restore dignity. There will be no delay in the meeting with labor unions if the FG is realistic in delivering a minimum wage to Nigerians,” he said.
